Mocha Pinku
- Feb 18
- 3 min read

Minamiizu Minami no Sakura Festival

Updated: Feb 19

in Minamiizu, Shizuoka

Minamiizu is a small town located in the southern most area of the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka. The area is known for its Minamiizu Minami no Sakura festival in February and early March. Approximately 800 cherry blossom bloom along 4 kilometers of the Aono River that runs through the Shimogamo Onsen Village. These variety of cherry blossoms bloom about a month earlier than regular cherry blossoms and have a distinctly deeper pink color. This type of cherry blossom is also called kawazuzakura, named after the place it was originally found, Kawazu, Shizuoka, which is about 45 minutes away from Minamiizu. There are also special illuminations of the cherry blossoms (yozakura) at night. They also hold a nanohana (or rapeseed) festival featuring fields of the yellow flowers about 15 minutes away from the river.

My Experience

The ride to Minamiizu took us over 4 hours by car. We left Tokyo early on Saturday morning, but I think there was a mini-accident on the highway, so it added an extra 30 min - 1 hour to the drive. Traffic was also a little heavy around the Tokyo/Kanagawa border and near Mishima in Shizuoka, so we ended up arriving in Minami-izu around 1pm. The river area itself wasn't that crowded but it took us a while to find parking! Lots of the nearby parking lots were filled up, so we just kept circling until one of them let us in. We ended up parking at the tourist center, and the parking guides were very nice! It only costed 500 yen.

We visited Minamiizu during the peak sakura season in mid-February so the flowers were in full bloom! There were also patches of nanohana (rapeseed) and daffodils near the cherry blossoms. The weather was a little cloudy and windy but it sort of cleared up in the afternoon. There were a few short rain showers though. Surprisingly the area wasn't as crowded as I thought it'd be.

There were mainly local couples and families walking around the river, as well as a few photographers and groups doing photo shoots! I saw two brides that looked absolutely stunning! There were some food stands set up along the path way, as well as a food few trucks near the tourist center and tables, so we grabbed a bite for a late lunch. They had like yakisoba, pizza, fish and chips, and meat pies, so there was a variety of foods to choose from!

They even had a rickshaw service, where guys could pull you along the pathway of the river. There were also steps where you can go and walk down near the river bank, but only portions of the area are paved/walkable so be careful! We walked up and the back down the river and it took us about an hour or so. They had a few bridges along the river as well which were great places for taking photos. The view of the river and mountains with the cherry blossoms was so pretty!

Minami no sakura or Kawazuzakura are a special variety of cherry blossoms known for blooming earlier than the regular cherry trees, usually from February, and generally stay in bloom for around a month, compared to the usual 2 weeks of the regular variety. The Kawazuzakura tree was first discovered around the Kawazu area of Shizuoka, which is about a 40 minute drive from Minamiizu.

Kawazu holds their own Kawazuzakura festival during this time as well, which is probably more well known than the Minamiizu Minami no Sakura festival. We visited the Kawazuzakura festival last year and I think the scenery in both places are equally beautiful! I think the Kawazuzakura festival is more well known though, so there are definitely more shops and visitors. We actually drove by Kawazu on the way home and it seems like there were way more people and tourists, so I recommend visiting Minami-izu if you want to avoid the crowd in Kawazu!