Cherry-blossom viewing

[Shibata District, Miyagi Prefecture] Plum housing complex with Senbonzakura at first glance! Okawara, the town of cherry blossoms and plum blossoms

  • Fitzroy Fitzroy
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Ogawara Town, located in the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture, has the Shiraishi River flowing through the center of the town, and many migratory birds fly in every year

The banks of the Shiroishi River are lined with approximately 1,200 cherry trees for about 8 km, and the area is known as one of Miyagi Prefecture's most famous cherry blossom viewing spots, known as "One Thousand Cherry Blossoms at a Glance."

History of Ogawara Town

Ogawara Town has a deep connection not only with cherry blossoms but also with plum blossoms, and the Heian period poet Fujiwara no Sanekata wrote a waka poem: "Picking the plum blossoms in the village where the nightingale visits, I will know the purity of the plum blossoms."

Because of this poem, Ogawara Town later came to be known as "Umegae-so," and even today, Ogawara Town continues to be a plum-producing area, with plums being encouraged as a revitalizing crop for the town, and its history as a "plum village" continues unbroken

Hitome Senbonzakura

The Hitome Senbonzakura, which blooms in profusion on the banks of the Shiraishi River with the Zao mountain range in the background, is the symbol of Ogawara Town and one of Miyagi's most famous cherry blossom viewing spots

1923 and 1927 , 1,200 cherry trees were planted as donations by Kaijiro Takayama, a businessman from Ogawara Town, and a row of cherry trees stretches for approximately 8 km along the banks of the Shiraishi River .

1990 , the Japan Cherry Blossom Association selected it as one of the "Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spots," and 2023 the 100th anniversary of the trees being

The cherry blossoms usually bloom April , and the Ogawara Cherry Blossom Festival is held around this time, attracting visitors from all over Japan.

Ogawara Cherry Blossom Festival

The Ogawara Cherry Blossom Festival is held in early April, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. During the festival, there will be cherry blossom viewing bento boxes for sale, LED night cherry blossom illuminations, a tourist and product association shop, various stalls, and stage events

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be the first time the event has been held in the Reiwa era, four years after the previous one, and will be held in March 2023

The event is scheduled to run from the 31st to April 13th

*Due to various circumstances, the Cherry Blossom Viewing Yakatabune will not be operating in 2023

INFORMATION

  • Period: Friday, March 31st to Thursday, April 13th, 2023 *Subject to change depending on the flowering situation
  • Venue: Shiraishigawa Park (between Ogawara Bridge and Suehiro Bridge), 3 minutes walk from JR Ogawara Station
  • LED night cherry blossom illumination: 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM
  • Tourist Association Shop: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
  • Various stalls open from 10am to 9pm
  • Cherry blossom viewing bento box sales: 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM *Sales will end once sold out
  • JR slow-speed operation: JR Tohoku Main Line between Ogawara Station and Funaoka Station *During the cherry blossom viewing period
  • URL: Ogawara Cherry Blossom Festival Official Website

GOOGLE MAPS

A collaboration between cherry blossoms and trains

Between Okawara and Funaoka stations on the JR

During the cherry blossom season, some JR will slow down for 700m

It's also a great photo spot where you can capture both cherry blossoms and a train in the same frame, so many photographers flock to Shibata Senzakura Bridge, which connects Funaoka Castle Ruins Park and Hitome Senbonzakura, another famous cherry blossom spot, hoping to capture the train passing through the rows of cherry blossoms in their viewfinders

Tsutsumi Ume Danchi, a hidden plum blossom spot

In 1932, during the time of the former Kanegase village, the mountains were cleared to increase food production, plum seedlings were planted, and about 60 farming households in the Tsutsumi area began working together

At the time, roads were not well maintained, so people had to carry bags of about 40 kg of harvested plums on their backs. Currently, over 3,000 plums are cultivated on an area of ​​about 6 hectares, and varieties such as "Shirakaga," "Nanko," "Hanakomi," and "Ishikawa" are grown

Best time to see the flowers

The best time to see the flowers is usually from mid to late March. This may vary depending on the weather, so we recommend gathering information on social media etc

The schedule may change depending on the weather, so we recommend gathering information via social media etc

Important points to note when viewing

The Ogawara Plum Estate is not a tourist attraction, but rather an active farm producing edible plums, which has been kindly opened to the public by farmers

Let's express our gratitude to the farmers and observe proper etiquette when viewing the plums, so as not to damage the plum trees or the plums, which are a valuable product

Ogawara Plum Festival

The Ogawara Plum Festival is held by the Kanegase Plum Association, which produces and ships plums

During the festival, there will be events such as picking plums, selling them by weight, filling up a 1.8L (approx. 1.8L) square with plums, and a tasting and sales corner for processed plum products

By the way, please note that the event is not held in March when the plum blossoms are in bloom, but around June every year when the plums are ready to be harvested!

INFORMATION

GOOGLE MAPS

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