Matsuda Cherry Blossom Festival 2019

It's March and spring aka my second favorite season is coming (or is it already here? lol) yayyyy! And as expected, my feed was (and is still being) bombarded with cherry blossom forecast posts. Based on what I have seen so far, the cherry blossoms in Tokyo will start blooming today, earlier than usual, which means I'm gonna miss it cos I'm flying out of Japan a few hours from now for spring break ohhhh nooooooo!

Of course ya girl won't give up that easily! I'm not gonna miss this fleeting sakura season without putting up a good fight! I knew before that there are lots of sakura varieties and each has its own bloom period. The somei yoshino type would bloom before the fluffy yaezakura type (my favorite) and so on. Given that, I tapped my bestie Google and gladly, I was answered- MATSUDA CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL A.K.A. KAWAZU SAKURA HEAVEN!

So off I went to a place I have never been before and after two hours worth of train and bus rides... I finally got my kawazu sakura dose! Glad that these early-blooming cherry blossoms exist omg! Yassssss!

Kawazusakura (カワズ桜) is one of the earliest cherry blossom varieties to bloom. These pink beauties can be seen as early as late January until the first few days of March. I went to this place last March 9th and these were what I have had witnessed~ 

There's a mini train that children (and children at heart lol) can ride. I'm not sure if there's a fee as I didn't try but you can easily spot the entrance to this "attraction".

ハロー ❀

ハロー、ラブ! ♡

We had to hike up a bit to see the view I wanted to take a photo of: Mt. Fuji with lots of kawazusakura beneath it but it was very cloudy when we went so yeah, I couldn't. 

But look at this view? Ain't it breathtaking? Ahhhhh this was more than enough for me~

This was another favorite view: pink kawazusakura x yellow rape blossoms 

Another favorite view weeeeew~

Sorry for flooding ya all with my face, I can't help but take lots of pictures with these pink beauties omggg heaven~

Also, I loved that this place wasn't that crowded! Usually, sakura places are flocked with lotsa tourists but not this one... not yet lol!

It started drizzling so we hurriedly headed down and ate sakuramochi soft cream instead! It had bits of sakura mochi ahhhhhh oishiiiiii~

The long travel time and the impromptu hike were worth it! If you have time to spare during the first two weeks of  March, I suggest you go! Here are the details for when you plan to go next kawazusakura season~

Matsudayama Herb Garden

2951, Matsudasoryo, Matsuda-machi, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa 258-0003

Access:  Matsuda Station/Shin-Matsuda Station, 10-min shuttle bus from Matsuda Station bus stop to Nishihira Park (¥150/adult, one way)

xx,

Alyssa

❀❀❀

All photos are mine. 

Please don't use them without permission.

For more cherry blossom photos and stories, as well as those of Tokyo and around Japan, please follow my Instagram accounts:

@alyssashimode

@nipponstreets

Life, Lately: Oh February, You're So Fine

And just like that, February ended. I can't fathom how fast this year has been going for me. How did those 28 days go unnoticed? I guess I was the only one who didn't really pay attention... my camera roll says otherwise. 

Continuing January's theme of *lay-lowing on life*, here were the things that made it hard for me to stick to that theme lol

⎡Valentine's Day⎦

An excuse to have dinner at La Boheme Qualita in Shibuya a.k.a. our go-to date place. I've lost track of the celebrations Kenji and I shared in this place (or rather in this restaurant chain, they have other branches where we have gone to before) but ya get that idea that it's "that" place for us heh~ Since we both grew up in the Philippines, we still have not accustomed ourselves to how the Japanese celebrate this day when girls give chocolates and whatnot to the boys. Kenji and I sorta exchanged gifts but we stood away from chocolates (I'm not really fond of them lol)

⎡K-pop Dance Classes at Otoya⎦

If you know me from college, you'd know I love k-dramaaaa! And later on, learned to love k-pop as well. I started listening to that genre back when people still cringe at it, now I don't care anymore if they still cringe- to each his own ha~ But yeah, now I'm into it more than ever, to the point of wanting to dance to the songs lol. I started random dance lessons summer last year and it was something I'm glad I started doing because the stretchings are great. Stretchings before the dance lesson proper are the only stretchings I do (I'm lazy af) haha. The catchy songs and cute steps are just bonuses! This month I got to go to three dance lessons! Still not good at it but I sure had fun!

⎡Onsen and Chill⎦

Went to an onsen somewhere near Shimmura-Sakaue Station and stayed the whole day dipping in the numerous baths, eating, being massaged by uhm massage chairs haha, and sleeping. Such a chill way to spend time and heal!

⎡Setagaya Ume Matsuri/ Setagaya Plum Festival⎦ Hanegi Park, Setagaya

I took a day off for the sake of using my paid leaves cos I haven't used one throughout the year. With that said, I tapped my childhood friend for some catching-up under the pretty plum trees. Glad we were blessed with a very fine day; Totoro even joined us~

So yeah, that was February for me (okay, those above plus work)! Can't wait for the second half of March! Why? You'll see in the next Life, Lately update! See ya! ♡

xx,

Alyssa

*****

Follow me on Instagram for more Japan travel and life photos and stories: 

@alyssashimode

Icicles of Misotsuchi (Misotsuchi no Tsurara)

I've always wanted to go to Chichibu, Saitama because of two reasons: first, I want to hike up Mt. Chichibu and second, I want to see the Shibazakuras in spring. But then, I came across with an article about Misotsuchi no Tsurara, also located in Chichibu, which "sparked joy" lol at my #KonMari reference~ And so around this time two years ago, I went... with the beau of course! *hurrah*

Edit: I've had this in my drafts for what seems like forever... but thanks to it, I won't struggle remembering the details~

So, let's start, shall we?

Set the alarm a little early on a Saturday morning to catch the trains to Mitsumineguchi Station, the nearest one to Misotsuchi no Tsurara. Yes, trains. We needed to do three train line transfers from what I remember, so just a tip, know your train route beforehand. :)

As if a few train line transfers were not enough... there's more haha! From Mitsumineguchi Station, we rode the bus to reach Misotsuchi no Tsurara. Buses to our destination come infrequently. We arrived at Mistumineguchi Station at around 11 o'clock in the morning and had to wait for the 12:40PM bus bound for Mitsumine Shrine and get off at Misoba stop, which should take us 30 minutes. 

Unfortunately, my beau and I weren't able to get off at the said stop cos we were waiting to get off at a rather non-existent stop: Sanjuba stop. Before this trip, we've researched for tips re: Misotsuchi no Tsurara and according to a few blog posts, Sanjuba is the nearest stop. Little did we know that there's no Sanjuba stop, only Misoba stop. Probably a Kanji mix-up... so yeah. Remember, it's Misoba stop lol!

Because of the mishap of not being able to get off at the right bus stop, we were able to reach the last of all the stops the bus we're on had: Mitsumineguchi Shrine ー a shrine on top of Mt. Mitsumineguchi, which was about 30 minutes away from our intended destination. That looooong~

Imagine how pissed off I was, not to mention how hungry I was cos we didn't get to eat lunch (Mitsumineguchi Station has one or two restaurants around but unfortunately those were closed when we got there). So we decided to eat lunch in one of the restaurants near the shrine's entrance and take a few photos around as we wait for the next bus bound back to Mitsumineguchi Station, with Misoba being one of the stops before reaching it.

And yeah, after less than an hour, we finally made it to Misotsuchi no Tsurara! It is located in the confines of Wood Roof Camp, so when you get off at Misoba stop, you need to follow the road to Wood Roof Camp. There are arrows on the road leading you to the place, so don't worry. :)

Ahhhhhhhhhh finally what I went here for~

When we got tired of taking pictures plus our fingers and toes were already numb from the cold (despite the two coats I have on), we walked up to the entrance where a cafe sits. They offer coffee, cakes, and other light treats on sticks (which I don't have any idea of). Ordered coffee and cheesecake. Normal taste, nothing special, only that the cups and saucers had Peter Rabbit characters on it. I'll admit that made me smile- Peter Rabbit was one of my childhood besties sooo~

At exactly 5PM, Misotsuchi no Tsurara lighted up in different colours! Yup, we stayed for the illuminations even though the last bus leaves the place at around 5PM and we don't know how to go back to Mitsumineguchi Station except for a taxi company's number saved on my phone. Nevertheless, we still were amazed  by the light show! It was great! It would have been greater if some music accompanied it~

(watch in HD *wink*)

After our eyes finished feasting over the greatness that is Misotsuchi no Tsurara, we decided to head home but to our dismay, the taxi company that we called said no taxi driver could pick us up cos there's  a traffic jam in the area. We were thinking of staying the night there and so we started to look for some airbnbs or ryokans in the area but to another dismay, we found none. 

We were on the verge of playing dead hahahahaha but the beau thought of asking the guards near the cafe if they know other ways of going back to Mitsumineguchi Station and yessssss they did! They said if we run, yes ruuuuun asap, we might be able to catch the last bus at Misoba stop (which should have been gone at 5PM) cos it was caught in the said traffic jam, too! 

And so we ran like we were running for our lives in high hopes that we'll make it. It was the scariest run of mine so far cos it's dark with only the headlights of the cars on our sides and those coming towards us guiding us, plus there is a lack of walking space- I was literally rubbing elbows with the cars on the road! Geez! Good thing we got to Misoba stop with our body parts still intact and zero wounds haha! And after a few minutes, the miracle of miracles came! The bussss!!!!! *hurrah* The end.

What an adventure! Or a misadventure at that! Nevertheless, I'm glad I went to see Misotsuchi no Tsurara even once in this lifetime~ You should go and see it, too! Just make sure you don't make the same mistakes as us -- maybe bring a car and remember, it's Misoba stop. *wink*

Details
Misotsuchi no Tsurara
4066 Otaki, Chichibu, Saitama-ken 369-1901
Hours: From 9AM onwards, Light-up at 5PM
Nearest Station: Mitsumineguchi Station, ride the bus bound to Mitsumine Shrine, and get off at Misoba Stop