Travel Izu cherry blossom festival begins despite few blooms

thomas · 4 Feb 2025

The annual cherry blossom festival in the Izu Peninsula, meant to herald the arrival of spring, has begun, but unusually cold weather has resulted in fewer blooms. Nevertheless, organizers anticipate 800,000 visitors during the 1st-28th February event, a significant increase from last year's 620,000. The festival showcases approximately 850 Kawazu-sakura cherry trees, known for their early blooming, which typically create a four-kilometre tunnel of pink blossoms along the Kawazugawa River. However, the Izu Agricultural Research Center predicts the peak bloom won't occur until late February or early March.

Photo credit: Minamishima Shinya

Located in the southeastern part of the Izu Peninsula, Kawazu is famed for its 8,000 Kawazu-zakura trees. At the festival's opening ceremony on Feb. 1, Mayor Shigehiro Kishi said the town will provide subsidies to help residents maintain cherry trees in their gardens and elsewhere. Kawazu-sakura is said to have been discovered around 1955. A resident, Katsumi Iida, came across a young tree less than one meter tall along Kawazugawa and planted it in his garden. The tree first bore flowers in 1966. Mitsuya Katsumata, a landscape gardener in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, was charmed by the flowers and started breeding the tree by grafting in 1969. The variety took hold in many areas and was named Kawazu-zakura in 1974. The Kawazu-sakura Matsuri festival began in 1991.

Few flowers open on cherry trees in Izu fest to herald an early spring | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

Travel Izu cherry blossom festival begins despite few blooms

thomas

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