Ranzan Cherry Blossoms, sans festival with ‘sakura hanabi’ cherry blossom fireworks and horseback archery.
Unfortunately, Ranzan Town announced back in Autumn that, once again there will be no cherry blossom festival in 2023. It is such a shame that the Ranzan cherry blossom festival can’t go ahead in 2023 as it is one of the better ones. They may light up the trees at night without the festival, but unfortunately the entertainment and special events will not be on. Moreover, the cherry blossom fireworks and horseback archery have been cancelled. However, the cherry blossoms will be open to the public for viewing.
Ranzan Cherry Blossoms
There are 252 cherry blossoms along the river. They stretch along two kilometers. It is very picturesque as in many places the view is unadulterated, thanks to the rural landscape. Moreover, in sections you can see the cherry blossoms with rapeseed (canola flowers). The sakura typically bloom the last week in March and first week in April, but in 2021 they were early. However, when we visited them on March 31st in 2019 they were late and had only just started:
Festival
When there is a festival on: There are usually about 70 festival stalls. On the weekends they have stage events. On specific dates they have a magnificent horseback archery event, tea ceremony, taiko performances and other special events. The fireworks are usually held on the last Saturday of the bloom period. And the cherry blossoms are normally lit up at night from 6 pm to 9 pm. A lot of places lit up their cherry blossoms at night in 2021 even though their festivals were cancelled, but Ranzan wasn’t one of them.
Fireworks at the Ranzan Cherry Blossom Festival
When the festival is on, they launch approximately 3000 fireworks on the first Saturday night of April. If it is raining they are postponed until the next day. This is the only cherry blossom festival I know of in Saitama that has fireworks.
Horseback Archery
Another highlight of the festival in a “usual” year is the horseback archery under the sakura tunnel. Again, this is the only cherry blossom festival that I know of with horseback archery under cherry blossom trees. Unfortunately, it is also cancelled in 2023.
Information
Even without the “usual” events on, Ranzan Cherry Blossoms are very picturesque. They are also relatively easy to get to and parking is available. Did you know Ranzan is also famous for lavender!? It has a lavender field that was formerly Japan’s largest. The cherry blossoms are close to Oomurasaki Butterfly Forest, home of the national butterfly of Japan.
Address: 829 Sugaya, Ranzan, Hiki District, Saitama 355-0221
Phone: 0493620720
Hours: 24 hours
Cost: free and free parking in places
Access: When the festival is on, generally the parking is at B&G 嵐山町Ｂ＆Ｇ海洋センター. B&G on Google Maps. The parking is usually free. By public transport: the cherry blossoms are about a 20 to 25 minute walk from Musashi-ranzan station on the Tobu Tojo Line (departs from Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo).
Official website and cancellation notification for 2023
First published in 2015, updated annually. Last republish March 5th 2022. Last update 2023.03.30. Original URL: event/cherry-blossom-festival-in-arashiyama-valley-ranzan
hard to believe its almost cherry blossom time again!