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A Trip to South Izu for Kawazu-zakura and Nanohana

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A Trip to South Izu for Kawazu-zakura and Nanohana

When people think of cherry blossom season, a lot of them probably picture late March to early April. For me, though, cherry blossom season runs from around late January through the end of February.

Atami-zakura starts blooming around Atami at the end of January, and from mid- to late February, the Izu Peninsula’s Kawazu-zakura reaches its peak. The softer color of Somei Yoshino, which blooms later in late March, is beautiful too, but I’ve always liked the deeper pink of Atami-zakura and Kawazu-zakura more.

That’s why I usually spend the three-day holiday in late February down in Izu taking cherry blossom photos. This year, I went all the way to South Izu with my mother.

Table of Contents

Morning Photos of Kawazu-zakura Along the Aono River

The first place we headed was Michi-no-Eki Shimogamo Onsen Yunohana.

Every year around February, the area around this roadside station hosts the Minami no Sakura to Nanohana Festival. Kawazu-zakura lines both banks of the Aono River behind the station, and the combination of the blossoms’ deep pink with the yellow nanohana (rapeseed blossoms) is honestly gorgeous. Apparently they light the trees up at night too, but I’ve still never seen the cherry blossoms there after dark.

The Kawazu-zakura in Kawazu is beautiful too, but when the trees are at full bloom, it gets so crowded that you start to wonder whether you came to see cherry blossoms or to get packed onto a rush-hour train. South Izu is a little easier to walk around, and I like that I can take my time photographing the trees when they’re in full bloom.

That said, a lot of the roads on the Izu Peninsula are just one lane each way, and traffic gets pretty bad after noon. I usually try to arrive earlier, but this time we were running a little late. We got there around 9:00 a.m. and made it into the parking lot without waiting, but it was pretty close.

There was also a monkey performance going on at the roadside station. A monkey in costume standing in front of the cherry blossoms made for a very spring-festival kind of scene.

A yellow nanohana field seen through branches of Kawazu-zakura
South Izu in spring, with deep pink Kawazu-zakura against yellow nanohana
A monkey in costume standing with full-bloom Kawazu-zakura in the background
The monkey performance at the roadside station

We spent the morning walking behind the roadside station and along the Aono River.

The light is especially nice there in the morning. You get the bright flowers lit by the sun, plus the shadows made by the branches and riverbank. That contrast really brings out the rich color of the Kawazu-zakura.

Full-bloom Kawazu-zakura lining the bank of the Aono River
Kawazu-zakura continuing along the Aono River embankment
A row of Kawazu-zakura casting long shadows across the riverbank in the morning light
Morning light cleanly separating the bright blossoms from the shadows on the bank
Kawazu-zakura blossoms against a green and yellow background
Kawazu-zakura set against the color of the nanohana
A walking path along the Aono River surrounded by Kawazu-zakura blossoms
A path along the Aono River wrapped in blossoms overhead
People walking on the Aono River embankment with Kawazu-zakura lining both banks
Walking the embankment while looking out at the blossoms on both sides of the river

A Tuna Bowl at Jizakana Ryori SHIN

For lunch, we went to Jizakana Ryori SHIN in Shimogamo.

I had a tuna bowl piled high with tuna. It tasted exactly as good as it looked. After walking around photographing cherry blossoms all morning, that seafood bowl was extremely satisfying.

We got to the restaurant around 11:30 a.m. and made it in with the first round of seating. A pretty long line formed after that, so getting there early was definitely the right call.

A tuna bowl topped generously with tuna, green onion, and tamagoyaki
The tuna bowl I had at Jizakana Ryori SHIN

Minamiizu Municipal Onsen Gin no Yu Kaikan and the Upper Aono River

After lunch, we stopped at Minamiizu Municipal Onsen Gin no Yu Kaikan for a soak.

I was traveling with my mother, and I guess getting older really does make people like hot springs more. I’ve been stopping at onsen more often when I travel too, so I’m probably heading down the same path.

Admission was about 1,000 yen. There’s an open-air bath too, but it isn’t the kind where you can soak while looking out at rows of cherry trees. Even so, it felt great after walking around all morning.

Steam rising beside a wooden hot spring facility in Shimogamo
Steam rising through Shimogamo, just like you’d expect in a hot spring town

After the onsen, we walked a little farther upstream along the Aono River.

It was less crowded than the area closer to the roadside station, and the atmosphere felt calmer over here. I also saw a few people taking photos in costume. If you want to take your time taking photos with the rows of cherry trees as a backdrop, this area seems like a good option too.

A road along the upper Aono River covered from both sides by full-bloom Kawazu-zakura
The upstream cherry trees, where the crowds thinned out and the walk felt calmer
Kawazu-zakura blooming along the flow of the Aono River
Kawazu-zakura beside the flowing Aono River
Deep pink Kawazu-zakura blossoms layered across the entire frame
Looking up into a frame filled with layers of deep pink blossoms

Onsen-Hopping in Dogashima

After leaving South Izu, we headed to Umibe no Kakureyu SEIRYU in Dogashima. That was the second onsen of the day.

We got there a little after the posted hours for day-use bathing, but luckily they still let us in.

This place has an outdoor bath right by the water’s edge. The tub really is right next to the sea, so it feels a little wilder than a typical open-air bath. The water here is salty, so I can see it being a matter of taste, but I liked it pretty well.

The Dogashima coast with blue water and steep rocky cliffs
The sea at Dogashima after the onsen

I was planning to photograph the sunset in Dogashima before heading home, but the sky was hazy that day and it didn’t look very promising. We waited a little while for the light, then decided to call it early.

Rocks and sea at Dogashima in hazy evening light
The sunset itself was hard to see, but a faint glow still lingered on the water

Conveyor-Belt Sushi in Numazu

On the way back, we drove to Numazu and had dinner at Sushi no Suke Numazu Main Store.

My favorites that night were the tuna nigiri set and the nori gunkan. The local-fish set was good too.

Local conveyor-belt sushi places in travel destinations are great, aren’t they? They’re affordable, the fish is good, and the value is hard to beat. We had a seafood bowl for lunch and sushi for dinner. I came for cherry blossoms, but when I look back on the day, I definitely spent plenty of time enjoying fish too.

Local-fish nigiri served on a plate at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant
The local-fish nigiri, which let me try a few different kinds of fish
Two pieces of nori gunkan with plenty of nori piled on top
The nori gunkan, with great flavor from the seaweed
A tuna nigiri set with akami and chutoro lined up on a plate
The tuna nigiri set that wrapped up the day

Wrapping Up

This year too, I got to see full-bloom Kawazu-zakura and nanohana along the Aono River. I spent the morning photographing cherry blossoms in the light, ate local fish, hopped between two onsen, and ended the day with sushi in Numazu. It felt like a very me kind of day in Izu.

That said, I’d actually already gone to Kawazu the week before to see the cherry blossoms there too.

For me, February is still cherry blossom season for a little while longer, as I keep chasing the early-blooming trees.