We took an overnight trip to see the Kawazu-zakura trees in Kawazu on the Iza Peninsula. It takes around 4 - 5 hours to get there from Tokyo. These trees are special because they bloom much earlier (Feb) and at a slower pace so they stay in bloom for a month instead of just for a few weeks. They all came from the first tree that you can still see today.
Even though they were not yet in full bloom we really enjoyed our time at the festival and hiking in the local area.
Kawazu is a fishing village at the mouth of the Kawazu river. As you go up the river valley, there are many onsen ryokans where you can stay. There is also a special trail that visits 7 waterfalls, one for each of the seven gods of fortune.
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| Seven Gods of Fortune |
The festival is along the river and includes many booths selling all kinds of food and crafts. Many people brought their dogs along for the walk (some got to ride).
At locations along the river walk, there are foot onsens where you are soak your feet.
Along with the cherry blossoms, we saw a lot of wildlife including a this little bird eating parts of the cherry blossoms.
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| Japanese White Eye |
After walking, I had a seafood dinner that was all locally caught seafood. It was very good.
The next day we visited six of seven waterfalls (missed one as it was very cold and started to snow). The trail was pretty and I want to go back when it is warmer. There was a place where I paid 100 yen for 3 stones and if I was able to get one of the stones into a circle on the rock in the river, my wish would be granted. No such luck for me, unfortunately :).
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| Shokei-daru Falls - Figures are from a famous book, The Izu Dancer |
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| Trail suspension bridge |
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| Kama-daru Falls |
Before we headed home, we stopped at the Kawazoo frog museum and saw several exotic frogs from around the world.
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| Long Nosed Horn Frog |
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| Blue Poison Dart Frog |
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| Yellow Banded Poison Dart Frog |
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