Weeping plum blossoms, Kawazu cherry blossoms, weeping cherry blossoms with cherry blossom festival and light up in Saitama City.
The scene of kawazu cherry beside weeping plum blossoms, the two shades of pink side by side, is absolutely breathtaking. It was an absolute delight to find this kawazu cherry blossoms x weeping plum blossom spot in the heart of Saitama (Saitama City), thanks to a chance encounter while I was walking around Iwatsuki. This post not only showcases this special spot for the combination of Kawazu and weeping plum blossoms, but I also share another secret spot in Iwatsuki too. In addition, this post contains information for a monthly market, a cherry blossom festival, weeping cherry light up and Iwatsuki Summer Festival.
Kawazu x Weeping plum blossoms in Saitama City
Last year I got a ton of queries about this location after posting a reel from there. How I ended up witnessing this splendid scene myself, is a story of the kindness of strangers. I was standing at the gate pictured in the featured photo (at the top of the post), admiring the kawazu, when two ladies passed. I said hello, as I always do, and a casual comment “beautiful aren’t they”, when one of the ladies said to me “Have you been into the garden?”. WHAT GARDEN? The secret garden behind the temple, as it turned out! The lady, who was a regular at the temple, sensed my hesitancy (polite gaijin complex!), so she said ‘come along with us, as my guest’. And off I went into the magical secret garden of kawazu cherry blossoms and weeping plum blossoms.
The aforementioned reel:
Kawazu Cherry Blossoms
It was the kawazu that first caught my attention as there are three beautiful kawazu in the parking lot which is visible from the street. Moreover, in the garden there are dozens more. You can see them contrasted by bamboo in one section too. And there are also white plum blossoms and other trees in the garden as well. In addition, there are some beautiful statues. The kind lady told me they typically bloom the end of February to early March.
Information for the weeping cherry blossoms, weeping cherry light up and cherry blossom festival is below the market information. ↴
Jogenji
The temple is Jogenji or Jyougenji. It is unknown when the temple was founded, but the current monk is the 25th chief priest. As there is a record that the temple suffered a fire in 1471, it is assumed that the temple was founded, at the latest, in the middle of the Muromachi period. The temple is located to the west of Iwatsuki Castle Park. There is actually a short cut / laneway from the park to the side of the temple. The temple has a popular market each month:
Iwatsuki Annon market
When I was there, the large parking lot (which was closed to the public) looked very familiar. I didn’t know the name of the temple, because the name on the gate above is not the full name of the temple. Moreover, its read right to left and I was reading it left to right! So I didn’t make the connection. I found the temple online by its location, not its name! And when I eventually got around to looking up the temple, I realized that I knew the temple as it regularly has a market in the large parking lot! I never knew there was a garden there.
The market is called Iwatsuki Annon Market. It is held on the third Sunday of the month, except for in August when there is no market. Also, in 2026, in September and October it will be on the fourth Sunday – that is September 27th (with water fight and pool) and October 25th. The market is on from 9 am to 1 pm monthly in the parking lot of Jogenji (Jyougenji). There are food trucks, workshops and market stalls selling such things as fresh vegetables and handmade goods (food and non food).
The July version (July 19th, 2026) is a summer festival with water play and a popular ‘suika-wari’ watermelon splitting game. The October market celebrates Halloween. For the December market, Santa Claus pays a visit. For the January event they have a New Year party of sorts, with lots of activities. Also, for the February market, it maybe a bit early for the stunning Kawazu cherry blossoms, but there maybe some plums in bloom. As of February 12th 2026 the weeping plum blossom is blooming. Moreover, at the February market they celebrate setsubun. Official website of the market (separate to the temple).
Cherry Blossom Festival
There is a cherry blossom festival at the temple on Sunday March 15th 2026 from 9 am to 1 pm. According to the official event poster, the weeping cherry blossom is expected to be in bloom. There is a market on the day and ‘rajio taisou’ as well as the super popular “stuff all you can bag” event and “candy toss” too. In addition, they will have a large scale rock-paper-scissors game. Please some events may require a “participation ticket”. Official event page.
Weeping Cherry Blossom Light Up
There are also weeping cherry blossoms on the grounds of the temple. Usually they light one of them up at the end of March to early April. They did in 2022 (I don’t know about 2023) so presumably they will do it again this year. Normally they announce it on their website, which is linked below.
Information
Temple: Jogenji (Jyougenji / Jogen Temple / Jogenji Temple / Jyougen Temple) 浄源寺
Address: 1 Chome-10-44 Ota, Iwatsuki Ward, Saitama, 339-0052. View on Google Maps.
Hours: 9 am to 5 pm.
Access: the temple is about a 20 minute walk from Iwatsuki Station. The large parking lot seems to be closed on a regular day, but there is a small parking lot near the gate pictured in this post. However, you can’t use the parking lots when the market is on. But for the March 24th Cherry Blossom Festival you can park at the parking lot beside Ota Elementary School.
Bonus: another spot in Iwatsuki
Jogenji is actually not the only location where you can see kawazu and weeping plum blossoms side by side in Iwatsuki. There is another secret spot with the magical combination. Horinji, a temple with a connection to Ota Dokan, is just a four minute walk from the east exit of Iwatsuki station. The trees tend to blossom late February to early March on average.
Address: 1 Chome-7-10 Honcho, Iwatsuki Ward, Saitama, 339-0057. View on Google Maps.
Online: The temple does not have a website, but there is a page on the Saitama City tourism website (in Japanese).
Even more places for Kawazuzakura, early blooming cherry blossoms, in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo.
just beautiful!