Back in the early 2000s, I read a book by Canadian author Will Ferguson about his journey following the cherry blossom trail from south to North in ‘Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking Japan‘ which was later retitled ‘Hitching Rides with Buddha‘. He spent five years in Japan during the 1990s and has still seen a far, far greater amount of sakura (cherry blossoms) than me despite residing here much longer than him. I can’t recall ever seeing anything of the iconic flower outside of Tokyo or Saitama though.

That finally changed last weekend (February 22nd) when we were in Shizuoka Prefecture at our holiday home for a few days. Admittedly, I didn’t even know about this famed sakura-viewing spot in Kawazu on the Izu Peninsula until just a few days before our trip. Perfect timing and the weather forecast looked good too!

Only in a very recent post on Tokyo Fox did I claim that this site was maybe too niche at times. Not now though as cherry blossoms are one of the most famous things about the country with tourism peaking at this time of the year as the stunning pink flowers are used in a lot of promotion for Japan package tours.

Given that most people book their trips to Japan months in advance it really isn’t so easy to time your trip to coincide with the peak bloom.

Over the last decade of visiting Izu regularly a few times each year, we’ve kind of got used to having it to ourselves but nothing could have been further from that on this occasion as the train was packed as we made our way down the east coast of the Peninsula ready for arrival in Kawazu just after 9:00 am. The sakura trees appear almost instantly on departing the station and they continue along the Kawazu River for about three kilometres heading north fringed by some beautiful mountain scenery too.

This was actually my fourth time in Kawazu with previous visits being for fairly niche reasons such as seeing the loop road structure, the Kappa Temple or some of the area’s waterfalls. My wife wasn’t with me for any of those trips, so this was her first time in Kawazu. Likewise for our 6-year-old chihuahua!

The tunnel-like sakura trails along the river were maybe the best I’ve ever seen and perhaps heightened by the lovely sunny February climate.

I’ve never really been confident in capturing half-decent cherry blossom photos as I don’t really know what is best to focus on but maybe the close ups of a branch or two are better than getting a tree or three in frame.

It’s pretty sad that warning signs in English about dropping litter are needed these days (with the usual bad grammar!) but such notices have increased in the last couple of years with the huge increase in inbound tourists.

There was far more to this cherry blossom trail than just the flowers though as there were dozens and dozens of food and drink stalls along the route selling all manner of delicacies.

I’m not usually one for splashing out on such food but do make the occasional exception. A single chocolate coated large strawberry on a stick cost 250 yen.

English signage has become more and more common in recent years with the giant rise in tourism but there are always some bewildering translations!

Izu is famed for producing high quality wasabi and many products featuring the pungent condiment were on sale including ice-cream, beer, hot dogs, hamburgers or just simple freshly picked wasabi sprouts.

For the last of the big spenders, my next purchase was two wasabi croquets for 500 yen.

As someone who is not a fan of crowds (apart from at sports events!) I am now happy that I won’t feel any need or desire to view any cherry blossoms when they start to bloom in Tokyo next month! I guess I’ve also got bragging rights for being able to tell students that I’ve already seen the delightfully looking pink flowers in full bloom this season!

Click here to read ‘Mount Fuji Views & Quirky West Coast Travels in Izu’

Click here to read ‘Izu Coastal Adventures; Mountains, Beaches, Lakes, Parks, Bridges, Temples, Food, Dogs, Football, Abandoned Ruins & Chainsaws!!’

Click here to read ‘On the Hunt for Another Temple Dedicated to Japanese Turtle-Like Humanoids’

Click here to read ‘One of Japan’s Most Beautiful Beaches Plus a Dilapidated Castle, A Loop Road & Shizuoka Cola’

Click here to read ‘Strawberry Vending Machines, A Big Buddha, Micro Shrines, Unstaffed Stations & Being the Only Train Passenger in Izu’