One of the most beautiful shibazakura, or pink moss, festivals in Japan is held in Chichibu, Saitama, at Hitsujiyama Park. Besides the shibazakura fields, the festival also has a tulip garden and a row of cherry blossom trees to walk along, plus a zone of famous local food and souvenirs where you can shop, taste, and relax.
We went on April 23, when the flowers were almost in full bloom, probably around 80-90%. We arrived in the morning on a weekday, so it was still not very crowded. If you come in the afternoon or on a weekend, it will definitely be packed.
Chichibu has many famous products, almost all of them local. They range from a drink made only during this season, a red drink made from cherry blossoms with no alcohol, fragrant, cool, and refreshing, not too sweet and not fizzy, to shibazakura soft-serve, sweet but not sickly, to beer, whisky, and sake that are local products, plus a super cute mascot.
There are also strawberries, a specialty of Chichibu, from nearby local farms, and honey that is claimed to come from bees that feed on shibazakura pollen.
If you're visiting Tokyo from late April to early May, we recommend stopping by, since it's not far and you can enjoy several different kinds of experiences in one trip.
The festival is usually held from early April until early May each year, so please check the dates for the year you visit.
▌How to Get There
It is close to three train stations: Seibu-Chichibu Station, Chichibu Station, and Yokoze Station, then about a 15-20 minute walk.
From Tokyo, from Ikebukuro Station, take a limited express train on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line to Hanno Station (about 45 minutes), then change to a local train on the same line to Seibu-Chichibu Station (about 50 minutes).
Follow updates on the festival in other years here: https://www.talonjapan.com/hitsujiyama-park/
▌General Information aboutHitsujiyama Park
Hitsujiyama Park is a large public park in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture. It is famous for the shibazakura fields that cover the hillside in spring, from mid-April to early May, when more than 400,000 shibazakura, or pink moss, flowers of many varieties bloom in a beautiful arrangement. This is why the hill is known as Shibazakura-no-Oka, over a hillside area of about 11 rai. There are also over 1,000 cherry trees of various other varieties to see.
Hitsujiyama Park is only about 80 minutes from Tokyo (Ikebukuro Station) by direct limited express.