Kawazuzakura on the Kamakura Kaido in Kitamoto

Once again it paid to get lost! On my way home from Adomani Cafe March 4th 2021 I took the wrong turn. Thankfully I had a rough idea of where I was and when I took another turn to get back on the right track I came across some of the most beautiful kawazuzakura. I had to go back the following day to check them out. And a year later, on March 3rd 2022, I visited once again. The update for 2022 is near the bottom of the post, above the “information” paragraph.

Kamakura Kaido

What drew my attention first was a cluster of beautiful sakura trees on a corner of a street. When I went back today I found a signboard with information. It is called the “Legendary Kamakura Road”. It was quite hard to read, especially as it included a lot of place and person’s names. However, what I could make out is that this is a preserved stretch of the former “Kamakura Kaido”. The Kamakura Kaido was built during the Kamakura Shogunate to connect Kamakura to areas in Kanto.

Unfortunately, I can’t find any information in English online to direct you to. However, the Kitamoto City official website has a little bit of information in Japanese, which gives a brief overview. According to the city a lot of archeological treasures were unearthed in this area. To this day, there are many ancient temples and shrines in the area. Including Takao Hikawa shrine, home to Japan’s largest “omikuji”.

The road winds westward from the intersection of Nishichuo Avenue and the Saitama Konosu line to Kitamotoshi Takao nursery on route 33. You can get to Takao Sakura Park following this route where there is range of cherry blossoms. The North end by Nishichuo Avenue is where there are flowers and tree blossoms:

Flower Road

The former Kamakura Kaido is now a flower road in this area of Kitamoto (map at the bottom of the post). They have not planted flowers in the last year due to the coronavirus. But there are dozens of trees in the area including flowering trees. Right now in the area there are plum blossoms and Kawazu Zakura in bloom.

Kawazu Zakura

You can see the above scene from the road. You can’t go in for a closer gawk, because its actually somebody’s house. But how beautiful it is. I can’t say for sure what the deep pink flowers are from a distance, I would guess plum blossom. But I’m pretty sure the pink tree on the right is a kawazu zakura. To the right of this photo, not pictured, there are public kawazu zakura. A cluster of them on the corner of the road:

Further back in the distance, you can see the Kawazu Zakura pictured below backdropped by bamboo. I nearly crashed the car yesterday when I eyed them. There is a little path south of the Takao Hikawa Shrine that leads to these trees. Please follow the path and don’t stand on the vegetable patch!

I shared the above photo on my Instagram stories last night and it had an unprecedented response. It spurred me to do a “Photo Friday” post for the first time in a year! Although I have answered all the people who inquired about its location through Instagram PM, I wanted to also share the location for others. Particularly for my readers who are not on Instagram.

The Kawazuzakura in 2022

I visited the area once again on March 3rd 2022. Honestly, because the kawazuzakura are really late all around the Kanto plain this year, I didn’t really expect them to be in full bloom. But a girl can hope! However, unfortunately, it is still too early. The row of kawazu in front of the bamboo are completely bare. But a few have opened by the cluster of them on the corner of the road where the sign for the Kamakura Kaido is. They’re only about 5%, so they’ve a way to go yet. However, the handful of plum blossoms are nearing full bloom, also later than an average year.

Kamakura Kaido Information

Access

There is no parking for the road or on it either. This area is part of a walking course and as such used mainly by pedestrians. There are shrines and temples nearby. They have signs up that parking should not be used by people that are not praying at the shrine / temple. So park at your own risk!

Kitamoto Station on the Takasaki, Shonan Shinjuku and Ueno-Tokyo lines, is about a 30 minute walk from the Kamakura Kaido.