Good morning! Spring is finally here! Today we are in Izu, Japan 2 hours south of Tokyo Here there is an early variety of cherry blossom it's called "Kawazu Sakura" These flowers are some of the earliest blooming sakura in Japan reaching full bloom in mid to late February This year was a bit late due to cold weather. The local town also plants these yellow canola flowers. It makes for a beautiful sea of pink and yellow. Speaking of color, the flowers of the Kawazu sakura are more pink compared to the pale white flowers found on most other sakura trees in japan. The sakura trees here run all the way from the ocean, to the back of the valley along this river. 12:00pm / 14°c / 57°f Today's walk starts at the most popular section of sakura trees. At peak season, this main strip of sakura is PACKED with people Luckily it seems that many people were taking a lunch break, so it wasn't too bad. We will make 2 passes along this popular section. First here at noon to see it in action, and then a second time with the full walk in early morning when it's nice and peaceful. In full sunlight it almost looks like the flowers are glowing With the right zoom lens, this long straight looks like a endless tunnel of bright pink cherry blossoms I could sit here all day on one of these benches As we approach the station side the crowds grow larger Speaking of the station, this small town is also called Kawazu. You can take a express train from Tokyo station to Kawazu station It takes about 2-3 hours, depending on the train There is even a luxury train, which I'll show in another video This variety of sakura was named after the town Kawazu, when it was discovered in the 1950s Every year, they hold a festival around this time there are many street vendors selling food. My favorites were yakisoba and the mochi with fruit in it The entire walk along the river is about 4km / 2.5mi and can take about 2-3 hours By the end of the day, I was dead tired😅 Let's enjoy the walk for a bit Now let's start the full walk! 7:30am / 10°c / 50°f Since the earliest train from Tokyo doesn't arrive until 10:30am, mornings here are quiet and empty. A great time for relaxing walks around the area. So if you want to see the area without the crowds, I suggest you stay overnight. That way you can have the place all to yourself! Just before this I recorded a morning breach walk along the coast
(will post in another video) Please enjoy today's walk! Apologies for the buzzing noise, someone was flying a drone up above. However, please note that drones are prohibited in this area.
There were signs posted everywhere 😅 Here are the bright yellow canola flowers planted by the town. I love the contrast it creates with the pink and yellow. It really brings about that spring vibe There are also many local vendors selling fresh wasabi and locally grown shiitake mushrooms (I bought a bag) ! Now we are taking a quick detour to see the original kawazu sakura tree. This is the original kawazu sakura tree, that is said to have been the start of all the trees of this variety in the area. The tree is more than 60 years old! You can really tell its age by looking at the massive trunk Here you can find many street food vendors selling delicious Japanese street food Some of the things you can find are meat skewers, mochi, yakisoba, taiyaki (fish shaped sweet bean pastry), and more! It's starting to get cloudy, so took a break until noon. Ahhh that's better, nice and sunny You can also notice how there are much more people around now that the trains from Tokyo have arrived Here we've reached the end of the main cherry blossoms, so time to head back. You can continue further up the valley for more nature and hiking. I hear there is also a amazing waterfall up there. There is also a night illumination as well! But this year seems smaller since there were less people around
This is a beautiful place, really peaceful! Thanks for sharing!