2024-02-14

Kawazu-Zakura Cherry Blossom Festival

Chasing Early Bloom: Kawazu-Zakura Festival 2024

Location: Kawazu River, Kawazu, Shizuoka, Japan
Timestamps: 08:18, 08:20, and 08:40 on February 14, 2024

My first visit to the Kawazu-Zakura Cherry Blossom Festival was on March 2, 2022, two days after the festival had officially ended. However, a majority of the trees still displayed a full canopy of blossoms for visitors to enjoy. This year, I timed my visit to the festival to coincide with a photo shoot at Imaihama Beach, which is just a 10-minute from the Kawazu River where the cherry trees are situated.

I left Imaihama Beach and the river at about 7:30 a.m., hours before the busloads of visitors arrived. The warm weather, clear skies, and golden morning light provided an ideal setting for landscape photography. 

While the annual cherry blossom festival officially extends until February 29th, locals I spoke with anticipated tourists continuing to visit as late as the first week of March. However, an elderly grocer mentioned that this year's peak bloom arrived slightly earlier than usual, suggesting that the blossoms might fall from the trees sooner than expected.

Here are three of my favorite shots along the Kawazu River:

Pentax K-1 II + DFA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6 + CP
68 mm ISO 100 for 1/100 sec. at ƒ/10

① The first shot was taken on the eastern end of Kinomiya Bridge (来宮橋), crossing Kawazu River, about an 18-minute walk from Kawazu Station. Looking north, a glimpse of the vermilion-colored Hosen Bridge (豊泉橋) adds to the scenic view.

Pentax K-1 II + DFA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6 + CP
28 mm ISO 100 for 1/160 sec. at ƒ/9.0

② The second shot was taken a few meters north of Kinomiya Bridge on the eastern riverbank. This spot provided ample foliage and shadows to almost hide the buildings and man-made structures behind the cherry trees, creating a nice contrast with the dark Kawazu-zakura pinks against the evergreen hills in the background.

Pentax K-1 II + DFA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6 + CP
31 mm ISO 100 for 1/200 sec. at ƒ/7.1

③ The third shot was captured from the middle of the riverbed, right across from the tourist information booth on the northern riverbank, a 26-minute walk from Kawazu Station.

The cherry trees line both banks of Kawazu River. From the Kawazu Station, you can head north along the eastern bank of the  River for about 2.2 km (1.4 mi) and head back down the river on the western side. The closer you are to the station, the more crowds there will be, but heading upriver offers a chance to capture lovely shots with fewer people around.

For those planning to come by train, I recommend checking out Donny Kimball’s “Come to Kawazu | Enjoy Japan’s Cherry Blossoms in February” blog post, where he suggests the best way to reach this town by train.

If, like me, you travel with a border collie, driving is the only option. From central Tokyo, it's a 2-hour 30-minute to 3-hour drive (depending on traffic). Kawazu Town is only 185 km southwest of central Tokyo, so even if you avoid the expressways, you can still reach this destination in less than 4 hours if you leave early enough in the morning.

I left home around 3:30 a.m. and arrived in Kawazu Town at around 6:10. Whether you are coming from Tokyo or Shizuoka, take the Tomei Expressway until you reach the Nagaizumi-Numazu Interchange where you'll want to switch to the Izu-Jukan Expressway. If you use the Izu-Jukan Expressway before 6:00 a.m., the toll gates are unmanned and allowing drivers to use the toll road for free. Upon reaching the Tsukigase Interchange, exit the expressway and head south on Route 414 for about 25 km (approx. 40 minutes) until you reach the Shimosagano intersection (next to the first 7-Eleven that comes into view). Continue straight onto Prefectural Road 14, which will take you directly into central Kawazu.

Along this Road 14, many staff will beckon you to use their parking lots. Almost all of these lots charge ¥1,000 for the whole day, so there’s no need to keep driving around in search of a cheaper parking option.

Once you secure a parking space, head east until you see the river and all the cherry blossoms in full bloom!

For photographers attending this festival, try to schedule your visit on a weekday early in the morning. With very few crowds, it becomes easy to set up a tripod to bracket your shots, take long exposures of the river, or capture some panoramas. The sidewalks are wide enough to accommodate a tripod without bothering other visitors. By the time the crowds start showing up though, you’ll want to put the tripod away, which is also when the light will be too harsh for decent photos anyway. This will be a good time to explore the rest of Kawazu Town, Kawazuhama Beach, and try some of the food and drink vendors along the riverbank.

If you have time, I'd recommend taking a leisurely drive home via Route 135, running the entire length of the eastern coastline of the Izu Peninsula. Roll down the windows, let the sea breeze enter the cabin, and be sure to stop at any of the numerous roadside rest stops that often offer spectacular views of the coastline.
 
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