in Matsuda, Kanagawa
The wintersweet festival is held annually in the Yadoriki Garden in Matsuda. Thousands of wintersweets bloom on the mountainside from mid-January to February. There are also many small vendors selling food and local farm products and crafts. It is the largest wintersweet garden in Japan. Wintersweet is a shrub that is originally native to China. It gives off a sweet scent and produces vibrant yellow flowers.
My Experience
We visited the festival on the weekend and it wasn't crowded at all. The blossoms were supposedly in full bloom when we went. It seemed like there were only locals who attend the festival and a couple of photographers. There weren't any tourists. Matsuda is about 1-2 hours outside of Tokyo, so it may not be a popular travel destination. The entrance to the park is at the bottom of the hill and it costs 500 JPY per person to enter.
The wintersweets were all in bloom on the side of the hill. The walk up the hill takes about 30 minutes to an hour. It's somewhat steep, so it's a tad bit more intense than walking through a normal park. There is a paved path up the side of the mountain, but you are also free to walk in the area where the wintersweets are planted. It's all dirt and grass, so it can be a bit difficult to tell where to go once you're in the shrubbery. There were a few places that were a little scary to climb up/down, but you can really just walk wherever you're comfortable with and you don't need to go too far into the hillside if it's too difficult for you. There were many senior citizens, babies, and dogs in the park, so anyone can go and enjoy the blossoms!
The wintersweet gives off a very sweet perfume scent that smells quite nice! I also really love the vibrant yellow color. I think the scenery would've been prettier if we went on a clear day as the yellow would contrast nicely against a blue sky, but unfortunately it was quite overcast when we visited. Also, from far away the blossoms stand out less due to the surrounded dead grass and trees during the winter. The flowers up close are still quite pretty though.
The festival also had stalls and vendors selling local food, product, flowers, and other crafts. We bought yakisoba, bento and dango. The bento came with kimpira (seasoned lotus root, gobo, and carrots), chicken meatballs, tamagoyaki (fried egg) and rice mixed with I think takuan and ginger. It was all very tasty! The seasonings were very light and delicate. The dango also had filling! I'm not sure what the first two were filled with, but the bottom two dango had anko or red bean paste inside. The first two might have been white bean paste with some sort of floral or sweet flavoring. We also bought some grilled fish on a stick, but I forgot to take a picture!
Official Site
Address
3384 Yadoriki, Matsuda, Ashigarakami District, Kanagawa 258-0001
Date
January 13 - February 12 (in 2024)
Time
9:00 - 16:00
Comments