Minami Izu Cherry Blossoms
Having lived in Japan for over a decade (how time has flown!), I’ll be honest - I had lost my delight for cherry blossom season, as it just generally meant to me; crowds, long toilet lines and drunken hanami shenanigans…
Another reason was also because perhaps it’d become normality for me to be able to see these beautiful bloomings every Spring so easily (most likely because I also used to live in a suburb/ku who’s name literally translates to Cherry Blossom New Town!) so for me it was just normality to see it every year on regular streets and even now where I live, there are various plum & cherry blossom tress wherever I walk, peeping over neighbours’ fences, at a local temple, small parks, so I never feel I have to go to a specific location to see hundreds of trees and deal with crowds - I love the simplicity and pure beauty that its just part of my everyday (spring season) world.
After a recent trip to Kawazu in Shizuoka during it’s early Kawazu-zakura blooming season, I started to re-appreciate the beauty of this fragile blossom as I explored the popular area (luckily on a weekday) but it was the subsequent day in Minami Izu viewing the Minami no Sakura which made me fall back in love with Japan’s cherry blossom season.
To experience the wild beauty (rather than manicured) of cherry blossoms against a carpet of bright yellow nanohana with sasa (wild bamboo) grasses crunching under your feet against a backdrop of the Izu mountains with onsen steam rising is truly breathtaking and I think may have spoilt me for the future. I will probably have to return to experience this wildness again.
WILD NANOHANA & MINAMI NO SAKURA
The riverbed of the Aono River stretches just over 4km and both sides are generally lined with these beautiful wild Minami no Sakura. Some areas have more nanohana then others, but regardless it’s just truly beautiful specially with the onsen steam from Shimogamo Onsen town rising above (see photos below)
WANDERING THIS WILD BEAUTY
You can reach the riverbed and sasa grasses at various points in the area through steps leading down or you can simply enjoy the walking path above to meander through this beautiful setting (see the photos below) as locals cycle past you on the way to their daily life.
We returned at nighttime to enjoy some yozakura (night time cherry blossom viewing) and though I’ve experienced yozakura many times in my years living in Japan, I’d become disenchanted by it all with the crowds, the drunkenness and loudness.
Experiencing it out in the quiet solitude of the countryside, with the inky night sky as a backdrop only broken up by the twinkling of stars gave me a whole new appreciation for it again. For everyone who was also enjoying it (not that there were many people there) were also just quietly viewing the scenery and breathing in the fresh air.
A NANOHANA FIELD
Roughly about 30mins walk from the Minami no Sakura is a random field of Nanohana, juxtaposed against a backdrop of bubble-era Japanese buildings on one side, and mountains to the other. We were a bit early in the season, but you could see the later cherry blossoms waiting to bloom. Apparently in summer, the nanohana field becomes a sunflower field.
Now you may be wondering how does one get to these pretty places, it will take some effort….
If you can drive it will make your trip a whole lot easier, which is why Kawazu is often a more popular choice as it’s easily accessible from Tokyo by public transport and right by Kawazu Station.
However part of the adventure is the journey itself to reach your destination. Driving is the easiest, public transport can get you there but it may take a few changes… am I going to give you a step by step guide to how to get there…? the answer is NO! because depending where you’re coming from, the day, the time - it will change your route but luckily we have the beauty of google maps now.
To reach Minami no Sakura - type in to google maps “Road Station Shimogamo Onsen Yunohana” where you can also enjoy a relaxing and deliciously hot onsen foot bath, and pick up some ridiculously cheap veggies, fruit and produce from local farmers plus pretty plants (was sorely tempted to buy a potted cherry blossom tree, but had no way to get it back to Tokyo easily haha - instead I bought a plum blossom tree from my local mum and pop nursery when I got home teehee - supporting local!)
Then if you wish to walk down (or drive) to the Nanohana Field which is off a major intersection, type in “FamilyMart Minamiizu Hino” (gotta love Japan that it’s just randomly opposite a convenience store) which is the closest ‘landmark’ on google maps.
After you’re done exploring and enjoying the pretty blooms, you will probably be starving as I was, around the corner from the Family Mart, roughly a 2min walk is a local seafood restaurant Okada (Oakada for google maps - blog post coming soon) which specialises in spiny lobster, red snapper, spider crab (depending on season) and other delicious local produce. The teishoku lunch sets are impressive as are their banquet options!
Whilst Kawazu can be possibly done in a day trip from Tokyo, I would suggest give yourself a more leisurely exploration for Minami Izu and stay a night or two especially if you’re not driving.
