One of the prettiest sights you can see in Japan is this scene of bright pink moss phlox in full bloom at the base of Mt. Fuji. This festival is held each may, and my family and I visited for Mother’s Day. It was very crowded, and it’s rare to get a photo without people in it, but maybe you can photoshop them out! The vibrant pink colors are just so amazingly beautiful and it’s really a sight to see.
I created a video about our trip to the Fuji Shibazakura Festival. Shibazakura means Moss Phlox, or Phlox Moss in English. I have been wanting to go here since before I moved to Japan. I saw a picture on Pinterest and pinned it as one of the places I wanted to visit. There’s only a short window of about 3 weeks in May when the moss phlox are in bloom. We were lucky because the day we went, we had a clear view of the elusive Mt. Fuji in the background!
Festival info:
In English: http://www.shibazakura.jp/eng/
In Japanese: http://www.shibazakura.jp/
The cost to attend the festival is about 600 yen for adults and 25o yen for children – quite affordable. Parking is 500 yen for a regular passenger vehicle. I would not recommend traveling her by public transportation. If you do not drive, your best bet is to go with a tour group. If you are traveling by car, you should enter “Fuji Motosuko Resort” or “Motosu Highland.” This is not the exact location but you will be generally in the right place, and once you get close to the festival you will probably be in a line of cars also waiting to get into the festival. Just follow the crowd and it will lead you through a slightly wooded area, that will make you think you took a wrong turn, but just keep following the cars & parking attendants, and you will reach your destination.
There will be plenty of local vendors selling food like sweet potatoes, noodles, Mt. Fuji shaped fish cakes, yaki soba, and other festival food. You can find all the information on the festival website.
You can spend anywhere from 1-2 hours walking around the site eating, and looking at things. I think we probably spent closer to 2 hours there (with 2 kids) and had our fill. Some areas are stroller friendly, but because of the crowds, it’s always easier to tote your baby in the Ergo. Also some of the ground is rough and not paved, especially when you’re walking back to the parking lot.
If you want to see the moss phlox, an alternative location is in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture. You won’t get the view of Mt. Fuji, but I think it will probably be less crowded.
Hitsujiyama Park Moss Phlox or Shibazakura Festival: http://www.sainokuni-kanko.jp/eng/sightseeingspot/023.html