Winter Cherry Blossoms at Joumine Kouen
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December 1, 2012 - Winter Cherry Blossoms at Joumine Kouen
Perhaps you've heard of Sakurayama Park in Gunma Prefecture, home of the famous winter cherry blossoms (fuyuzakura), that bloom in fall and into winter. But have you heard of Joumine Kouen? Sakurayama's smaller, lesser-known cousin, Joumine Kouen across the border in Saitama is a must-see for fuyuzakura and Autumn colors together. If you come early in the day, it is easy to see both Sakurayama and Joumine, as well as some other sights in the area.
Joumine Kouen is a park in Kamikawa, Saitama just across the border from Sakurayama Kouen in Gunma Prefecture. In fact, on fine days you can see one from the other, and to get to Joumine, the easiest route is through Gunma and across the dam.
Sakurayama is the more famous of the two, a fact which I believe is partly because it is easier for tour buses from Tokyo and Kanto to get to and park at Sakurayama. Joumine is further down the road, and doesn't have the big parking lot that Sakurayama has. However, this is actually a good thing; where Sakurayama can be a bit crowded on weekends, Joumine was quiet and peaceful. Also, you must pay for parking at Sakurayama, which at Joumine is free. I'd say Sakurayama has the better walking/hiking paths whereas Joumine has the better clusters of trees. And of course, Sakurayama has that beautiful pond and Japanese-style garden, which Joumine lacks.
However regardless of which park is better (and having been to both, they are both pretty great!), since they are close together it is easy to see both in a day and decide for yourself.
The fuyuzakura generally bloom from around the end of October through the beginning of December. However I'd say they only truly become worth the trip at the end of November on. The winter blooms are much sparser normally than spring ones, so even in "full bloom" the trees still look a bit bare when compared to spring. So when they first get started, there isn't much to see. Also, by coming in late November to early December, you get the fall colors together with the blossoms, which is a unique sight!
The night light up is from November 1st through the beginning of December (there isn't an exact date listed). On October 28th there was an actual matsuri held, on November 3rd a Rock Concert was held, and on November 10th there was a karaoke contest. So events are held sporadically throughout the season. The poster also points out some other interesting sights in the area, such as the Shimokubo Dam and the Sanbaseki, giant rocks that are famous from the Edo period.
Although a bit late in the season, there were still some nice colors at the park. Between the fall colors and the winter cherry blossoms, there was a lot to see and take pictures of!
There are many viewing platforms to get overall views of the trees, as well as paths between the trees themselves.
And there were also a lot of opportunities to get the fuyuzakura and the kouyou together as well... which was entirely the point of why we came!
The contrast between the kouyou, the fuyuzakura, and the green was fantastic. A better photographer would be able to do it justice; I, alas, am not that good. But I hope my pictures give you a vague idea of the beauty of the area!
The light in this area was fantastic, and we were pretty much alone in the area. One thing to note, winter in the mountains means the sun sets VERY early. Already by 3:30 we were losing the light; by 4:00, it was behind the mountains. So if you are planning to go, make sure you are aware of that and plan your trip accordingly!
All in all, I was very happy to go to Joumine for the first time, and am glad we went there instead of Sakurayama. If this is my last kouyou opportunity of the season, then I can conclude that it was a great one, and look forward to winter fully. So, in summary:
Kouyou: check!
Fuyuzakura: check!
Winter Illuminations: coming up next!
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