Jomine Park in the unassuming Kamikawa Town in the North of Saitama. It is one of Japan’s most famous winter cherry blossoms spots. Moreover, it is one of only a handful of places in Japan where you can see red maple leaves and cherry blossoms at the same time. The official period of the winter cherry blossoms x autumn leaves has been confirmed as has the one day cherry blossom festival. Moreover, during the period that the winter cherry blossom are in bloom, the park is usually lit up at night.
Winter cherry blossom trees
Each year in Autumn, Kamikawa town in the Kodama district of Saitama Prefecture is one of the most colorful places in all of Japan. Jomine Park’s winter cherry blossoms are one of the three great winter cherry blossom spots in all of Japan. The other two are Sakurayama Park in Fujioka City (Gunma) as well as the four seasons cherry blossoms in Obara in Toyama City (Aichi). Sakurayama Park is only a short drive from Jyomine Park, making the area an ideal location for winter cherry blossom viewing. Moreover, as Jomine Park has a campsite, you can enjoy a particularly scenic Autumn camping experience here.
There are approximately 600 cherry blossom trees in Jomine Park. They are double flowered of the “October cherry blossom” variety or Jyugatsu sakura in Japanese. As you can probably guess, they are called such because they start blooming in October! Usually mid October. Lucky for us, unlike their spring counterparts, they normally bloom for at least a month, normally longer. They also bloom again in spring.
Actually, these particular type of rare cherry blossoms have a very different blooming pattern in autumn / winter than in spring. In autumn and winter they cyclically bloom and fall and bloom again for weeks on end. Therefore you can see them in Jomine Park until early to mid December. There are walkways between the trees and even raised dais to facilitate easy viewing and the opportunity to get that picture perfect photo!
With Autumn leaves
The best time to visit Jomine is usually mid-November, because not only will the cherry blossoms be blooming, but the autumn leaves will also be at their prime (all things equal). This is one of only a handful of places in Japan that you can see winter sakura and red maple leaves at the same time. Moreover, they usually light them up at night. But they don’t confirm that in any given year until days beforehand.
Winter Cherry Blossom Festival
Until 2018 the festival was on for the whole period of the light up (about five to six weeks). But in 2019 they cancelled the festival, just as it started, due to damage sustained in the area during typhoon Hagibis. The following year you know what happened! So now they just have a festival on one day. In 2026, it is on Sunday October 25th from 10 am to 3.30 pm.
They will have a market, stage events, and food trucks. There are also two eateries in the park that are usually open for the period of the winter cherry blossoms bloom. The official period for the winter cherry blossoms x autumn leaves in 2026 is from October 25th to early December. They are late setting the dates this year. To give you an idea – last year it was Sunday December 7th. They are also late to confirm they will have light up – but it is the same every year. I don’t want to take it for granted though, but most likely the light up will be from October 25th to early December.
>>More about our 2020 visit here.
In the area
- The haunted dam
- A very special shrine – 1 of only 3 in all of Japan
- A fishing restaurant
- The naked men festival!
Event Information
Event: Winter Cherry Blossom and Autumn leaves Light Up and Winter Cherry Blossom Festival 冬桜と紅葉ライトアップ・冬桜まつり
Date: the festival is on Sunday October 25th 2026 and the period of winter sakura x autumn leaves is from October 25th to early December 2026. They will light the trees at night during that period if there is blossoms on the trees.
Time: The festival is on from 10 am to 3.30 pm. Sakura and autumn leaves viewing is from 9 am to 4 pm. Light up is from dusk to 8 pm.
Cost: there is no admission fee.
Venue: Municipal Jyoumine Park (Jomine Park / Joumine Park), 1277 Yano, Kamikawa, Kodama District, Saitama 367-0313. View on Google Maps.
Access
There is a train station in Kamikawa “Tansho Station” but there doesn’t seem to be a bus to the park from that station. You can get a bus from Honjo station though. From Honjo station get the bus bound for Jomine park 「城峯公園方面バス」. It takes about 45 minutes.
By car – there is plenty of parking, but please note during the prime viewing period it is not unusual to have to wait to get a coveted parking spot! Also, please note – they run a one way system during the period of the flowers. Moreover, sometimes the roads are suddenly closed due to inclement conditions. Always check with the official site for the most up to date information, especially after a natural disaster such as a typhoon or earthquake.
Information on the Kamikawa town website.
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lol i didnt realise ‘double flowering’ was a thing! thank you for edumicating me!
Neither did I until I came to Japan!!
Are there and cherry blossoms as of now before the festival in 2023?
Planning to come this week.
Thank you.