Located in Makuyama Park, Yugawara Bairin (Plum Grove) are in large scale, it has about 4,000 of various types of plums.

In early March, the weather is still cold, plum trees in Yugawara Plum Grove already started to blossom, the ground of Makuyama Park is paved with a colorful blanket of plum flowers, it looks spectacle!

This is my last trip at Japan, I chose beautiful Yugawara Plum Grove. I hope this trip could mark a perfecting ending for my 5 months studies in Japan.

 

The Yugawara “Umenoutage” Festival was from February 7th to March 15th, there will be various traditional event taking place in the festival such as Geisha dance, Kyogen, and Japanese folk songs, etc.

I chose a sunny weekday to visit the festival, meet many old people.

After leaving Yugawara Station, I took a dedicated bus service to Makuyama Park, it took 15 minutes to reach the place.

I saw many patches of red and white on the mountain from faraway, I was getting excited.

There was a footbath facility that can be used free. However it is not a natural hot spring driven footbath but rather a man-made facility to meet the needs of the festival. The water is heated by the staff of the festival.

Many tourist spots in Japan offer free foot bath, many of them are driven by natural hot springs. To me, it is really a special treat.

When I saw the footbath in Yugawara Plum Grove, I realized the profound hot spring culture of Japan. For such an event, footbath is an inevitable facility.

I walked for a while, saw plum trees emerged in white and red flowers. There are subtle flower scents in the are.

There are many stalls in the open space at the foot of the mountain selling a variety of specialties. Many people gathering there.

Under the trees, there are some tables and benches, I bought a Dan-Dan noodle started to eat it under the tree.

After coming down from the mountain, I bought a plum flavor ice cream, it smells the fragrant of plum.

During the festival, you will get 1 point for every 100 yen you spent in the Plum Garden. 15 points can be changed to a cup of sweet wine. I want to give my 8 min away and fear of being as bad guys, can not open the mouth, on the way back.

After finishing my lunch, I walked up the mountain. The road to the mountain top was not so steep, it was an easy walk for me. I noticed that the mountain was filled with plum flowers. The team formed of elderly people are very energetic, walking around everywhere in the plum grove.

I took many pictures of the plum, red, white and yellow flowers.

To me, the flowers of plum, peach and cherry all looked similar, but after took so many pictures, I can tell the difference between them now.

There are many types of plums in Yugawara Plum Grove, many I cannot call its name but plum blossom shapes are quite different from each other.

Served with blue sky and the distant hills, adds to the beauty of plum blossoms.

An old man saw me taking pictures constantly, says I am so seriously.

Yugawara is one of few places I love mostly in Japan. Whenever I visited here, I can always enjoy the beautiful scenery, and have a better experience.

Information

* Please refer to the latest info before visiting the place.