Motosu, Japan
Our last full day in Japan brings us to the Fuji Shiba-Sakura Festival located in Motosu, Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi Prefecture. A beautiful festival around diverse moss phlox flowers. Though a creeper plant, the Japanese call them lawn-cherry (shiba-sakura) for their resemblance to cherry blossoms. The festival happens in Spring from mid April to late May.
It’s a two and a half hour trip southwest from Tokyo to the festival. We caught a bullet train, local train then a coach to get there. A pleasant trip, I must say. Especially on the local train where we got to see Mount Fuji in all it’s magnificence. No photos unfortunately but keep a look out for the video.
They have an upper deck with a gorgeous, panoramic view of the festival. If you’re lucky, on a clear day you can see Mount Fuji in the background. As you can see we weren’t that lucky as Mount Fuji (a touch to the right from centre) is covered by clouds. It never cleared up except once on the local train back home.
They have about height varieties of moss phlox on display. They do have other flowers like these Blue Bells but the festival is all about these lawn-cherries. Of course, Mount Fuji is very important in this region. So much so it’s represented as a flower mount (to the right in the panorama photo above).
We here a lot about this event and yet very little about the Mount Fuji Delicious Foods Festival held inside the same grounds. They’re the restaurants, stalls and shops you see as you enter. Offering the finest foods from the Mount Fuji region, you can find anything from traditional to modern meals, sweet or savoury treats, there’s something for everyone. There’s even a huge shaded dining area so you can sit and enjoy your meal, and maybe even meet people.
So if you’re into flowers or food or both, the Fuji Shiba-Sakura Festival & Mt. Fuji Delicious Foods Festival is a must.