On the grounds of Seiunji Temple in the Arakawa area of Chichibu, there are dozens of weeping cherry trees. One of them is a cultural property of Chichibu city. A proven 600+ year old weeping cherry blossom of the edohigan variety. But in addition to this ancient beauty there are also another 30 weeping cherry blossom trees. One of which is a benishidare cherry tree with rich pink blossoms. Each year they celebrate the elegant beauty of the trees with a cherry blossom festival and, for four nights only, they also light them up at night.
Chichibu Arakawa Seiunji Weeping Cherry Blossoms Festival
The stunning weeping cherry tree blossoms at Seiun-ji Temple can generally bloom from late March to about mid-April. The festival is on for two weeks during this period. In 2026 the dates are from Thursday March 26th to Sunday April 12th. The revered ancient cherry blossom has branches that extend over 10 meters, the diameter of the tree at eye level is 2.72m, the root circumference is 4.25m and it is approximately 15 meters high. A very formidable tree indeed! You can see it, and the other weeping cherries, lit up at night on Friday March 27th, Saturday the 28th, Friday April the 3rd and Saturday the 4th only.
Also, about a 10-minute walk from Seiun-ji Temple there is a temple on the Chichibu Pilgrimage Route, Chosen-in Temple, where you can see the blossoms on the cherry tree known as the “Revived Cherry Tree”
Information
Event: Chichibu Arakawa Seiunji Weeping Cherry Blossoms Festival 2026 秩父荒川清雲寺しだれ桜まつり令和８年
Dates: from Thursday March 26th to Sunday April 12th 2026.
Time: from 9 am to 5 pm, except for on March 27th, 28th, April 3rd and 4th when the cherry blossoms will be lit up and the temple will stay open until 8 pm.
Cost: there is no admission fee
Venue: Seiunji Temple, 690 Arakawakamitano, Chichibu, Saitama 369-1802. View on Google Maps.
Access
Seiunji is about a fifteen minute walk from Chichibu Railway’s Bushu-Nakagawa Station. There is no official parking for this event and they recommend you use a coin parking lot in the area. The nearest interchange is a good 50 minute drive away – the Hanazono Interchange of the Kanetsu expressway.
More cherry blossom light up ‘yozakura’ locations in Saitama Prefecture.
The featured photo at the top of the post is a stock photo from AC Photo.
the night time lighting makes it look magnificent!
They are particularly stunning at night, especially after rain when you can get a reflection photo!