Musenyama, also known as the KDDI Forest, is a greenery trust in Ina Town. There are approximately 100 large sized (roughly 10 meters tall) cherry blossom trees, all about 80 years old, creating a 200 meter tunnel of sakura. Inamachi had a scaled back cherry blossom festival in 2022, nothing like normal. The festival was completely cancelled in both 2020 and 2021 on account of the pandemic. However, in 2023, they are having a festival more like before the pandemic.
Musenyama
Musenyama is number thirteen of fourteen greenery trust conservation sites in Saitama Prefecture. It is on the trust list for its Konara Oak and other deciduous trees. But the park is most known for its avenue of cherry blossoms. The name is a pun on the absence of a KDDI antenna that used to be at the site. Musen 無線 in Japanese means wireless and yama 山 means mountain. The number ten greenery trust conservation site in Saitama Prefecture is also on this blog, here.
2023 Musenyama Cherry Blossoms
Latest: buds on the trees as of March 14th 2023.
While not a festival in the traditional sense, they use the term to indicate the period in which there will be stalls selling local produce. However, in 2023, on two dates they will have a more traditional festival with entertainment and events.
The 2022 cherry blossom ‘festival’ period in Musenyama is from Saturday March 25th until Sunday April 9th from 10 am to 4 pm on dry days. In a ‘normal’ year the cherry blossoms are lit up at night until 8 pm. However, unfortunately just like in 2022 they will not be lighting the trees up at night in 2023 either.
Furthermore, normally during the period you can picnic under the trees. However, in 2023 they are not letting people sit down under the trees. Therefore, you can not use picnic sheets or outdoor chairs. However, as aforementioned, this year for the first time in four years they will have special events for one weekend only. In 2023, that is Saturday April 1st and Sunday April 2nd, from 10 am to 3 pm.
Update March 23rd 2023: Ina town announced yesterday, March 22nd, that in light of the loosening on restrictions nationally, they will let people eat and drink in the park this year. Moreover, they decided to open the season yesterday too. Which means that you have to pay for parking from the 23rd.
Festival weekend
On both Saturday the 1st and Sunday the 2nd of April they will have live performances including dance and taiko drum performances.
In the area
There are also beautiful cherry blossoms in Hiratsuka park, in neighboring Ageo, which is about a 17 minute walk or 4 minute drive from Musen-yama. Beside that there is an excellent Spo-cha which has a kid’s spocha too. And for future reference, later in spring you can see roses in Ina town!
Information
Event: Inamachi Musenyama Cherry Blossom Festival 伊奈町無線山さくらまつり
Dates: Wednesday March 22nd Saturday March 25th to Sunday April 9th. Main festival weekend: April 1st – 2nd.
Hours: 10 am to 4 pm
Cost: Free
Venue: Musenyama KDDI Forest, Komuro, Ina, Kitaadachi District, Saitama 362-0806. See map at the bottom of the post.
Access
The nearest station is Shiku station on the New Shuttle line. It is about an 8 to 10 minute walk from the KDDI Musenyama forest. Both Ageo Station and Hasuda station are about a 45 minute walk from the park, but buses go relatively near Musen-yama from both stations.
Parking is available. It costs 300 yen during the period of the ‘festival’ and is free at all other times. Please note there are only 80 parking spots. The car park is open from 9.30 am to 5 pm.
Featured image from the official Ina town tourism website.
First published in 2016, revamped and republished in March 2022. Last update March 14th 2023.