Information for the 2026 Shibazakura Matsuri, aka Moss Phlox Festival, on the Shibazakura Hill at Hitsujiyama Park in Chichibu. Celebrating 25 years this year. The festival starts proper on April 10th 2026 – from that date you have to pay into the park. But they will have a marche from Friday April 3rd 2026. Last year (2025), the shibazakura didn’t really start blooming until April 11th 2025. However, this year if anything they are a little early. I was there on April 5th 2026 and they were already blooming quite a bit:
The rest of the photos in this post are from previous years.
Shibazakura Hill
Shibazakura are a dainty bright flower that create a striking colored carpet. In English, the most common name is moss phlox (phlox subulata). Shibazakura no Oka (Moss Phlox Hill) in Hitsujimaya Park in Chichibu is one of the most famous shibazakura spots in the Kanto-Koshin area, topped only by the Fuji Shibazakura of Yamanashi Prefecture. Furthermore, Hitsujiyama Park’s display is one of the largest with approximately 400,000 moss phlox flowers, of 10 different varieties, over a 17,600m² area. They typically bloom from mid April to early May. Each year Hitsujiyama Park have a shibazakura matsuri, moss phlox festival, during the prime flowering period.
Shibazakura Matsuri Chichibu
The shibazakura festival at Hitsujiyama Park is one of the few festivals that was only cancelled once, in 2020, but went ahead throughout the rest of the pandemic period. However, it was a festival lite in both 2021 and 2022. In 2023 it was more like a regular year and once again thousands of people came to visit the famous spring scenery of vibrant pink and purple shibazakura backdropped by Mt Buko.
Each year the festival starts mid April and ends after Golden Week. However, in recent years, they do have a marche in the park for the week before the festival starts properly. In 2026, that is from April 3rd. From mid April though not only not only is there no charge into Shibazakura Hill, there is also no charge for parking. In 2026, that is from Friday April 10th. The festival is currently scheduled to run until public holiday Wednesday May 6th 2026.
The remainder of the park is free and open to the public throughout the period of the festival. But you have to pay into the festival area, “Shibazakura no Oka” to see the moss phlox / shibazakura. It costs 500 yen per adult. There are food, drink and festival stalls in the festival area. The park is open from 6 am to 8 pm, but the festival area and parking lot are generally open from 8 am to 5 pm. (They usually have a couple of days with extended hours – not yet confirmed for 2026). Also please note, weather conditions may effect the opening hours of the food stalls.
Events
You can enjoy various events on the weekends or public holidays during the period of the festival. For example:
- Daily from April 3rd: Chichibu Marche
- Daily from April 10th Potekuma Kun Commemoration sticker (if you enter before 4 pm)
- “Sarumawashi” traditional monkey performance on April 18th, 19th, 26th and 29th
- A “sweets” walk on April 18th
- 25 year anniversary concert on Saturday April 25th – at 11 am and again at 1.30 pm
- Horse riding: April 26th, 29th and May 2nd to 5th. 2000 yen per person.
- Petting zoo from May 2nd to 4th 2026
- Sheep shearing demonstration on May 4th and 5th
- Spring Meisenkan festival from April 18th to May 6th
- A loop bus will be available on April 18th, 19th, 25th, 26th, 29th and from May 2nd to 6th so you can tour other of Chichibu’s attractions after a visit to the park.
- Taiko performances on May 3rd
- Not scheduled for 2026 yet, but Mascot Potekuma is usually in the park at least once for a meet and greet
Crowd Calendar
The festival gets so busy that they actually have a crowd calendar for the park. The 2026 calendar is not live yet. But when it is: A represents the least busy with E the most busy. It is hard to fathom, but it gets so crowded on “E” days that you have to wait ages to get in the park. Moreover, parking is a nightmare. If you are in a position to visit on a day that isn’t a public holiday or weekend, I highly recommend it.
>>Don’t miss the very picturesque Nosaka-ji which is right next to the park<<
There is more to the park than just shibazakura:
Shibazakura Matsuri Information
Event: Shibazakura Hill aka the Shibazakura Festival 秩父羊山公園芝桜の丘、芝桜祭り
Date: from April 10th to May 6th 2026, marche from April 3rd 2026.
Time: 8 am to 5 pm
Cost: Shibazakura Hill costs 500 yen per adult to enter or 400 yen if you have a group of 20 people or more. There is no charge for children under 15 years old. (There is no charge into the rest of Hitsujiyama Park, just Shibazakura Hill and only during the period of the festival).
Venue: Shibazakura Hill, Hitsujiyama Park, 6360 Omiya, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0023. View on Google Maps.
Access
The park is an approximate 15 minute walk from Seibu-Chichibu Station, serviced by the Chichibu Tetsudo, Redarrow (Ikebukuro line) and Seibu-Chichibu lines. The Redarrow is the quickest from Tokyo (Ikebukuro station) taking 1 hour and 28 minutes.
Hitsujiyama Park is approximately 20 minutes from Seibu-Chichibu and Chichibu Tetsudo line’s Ohanabatake Station. You can take the acclaimed Steam Locomotive Paleo Express. From Kumagaya it takes 1 hour and 20 minutes to Ohanabatake station on the Chichibu Tetsudo line.
It takes approximately 25 minute to walk from Seibu-chichibu line and redarrow (Ikebukuro) line’s Yokoze station.
The car park is approximately 20 minutes drive from Minano-Yorii Toll Road. Parking is normally free, but during the period of the festival it costs 500 yen per day.
For more current events in Saitama please see this month’s event round up.
Editor’s note: this post was temporarily merged with the Hitsujiyama Park post, during the pandemic. Republished March 28th 2023. Pc2013. R①20180405. Last update: April 4th 2026.