Plum Blossoms at Bairin Koen

Bairin Koen in Gifu City is a famous spot for plum blossoms in Japan. The name Bairin Koen (梅林公園) means “plum grove park” and it certainly lives up to its name with 50 different types of ume or plum blossoms and around 1300 plum trees. About 700 of the trees have white blossoms with the other 600 with red/pink blossoms.

The park was originally a private estate until it passed into the hands of Gifu City, where it was expanded and made into a public park.

The earliest plum blossoms begin blooming in mid-January, with the majority usually reaching their full blossom in late February or early March. The Gifu Ume Matsuri is held around that time in the park on the first Saturday and Sunday of March. It features music, dancing and lots of street vendors selling all kinds of fabulous Japanese festival food.

Close up of the Pink Plum Blossoms

Pink Plum Blossoms

More Pink Plum Blossoms

Close up of the White Plum Blossoms

White Plum Blossoms

Plum Blossom Grove

A point of interest is the park is home to a D51 steam locomotive, which is popular with kids both big and small.

D51 Steam Locomotive

Information

Events in the Gifu Area for March / April 2013

March 2-3: Gifu Ume Matsuri at Bairin Koen in Gifu City. Featuring 50 different types of ume blossoms and 1300 trees this is a must see for any ume blossom fan. There will be a kids event on the 2nd while the 3rd will have music and dancing. Lots of food vendors will be there as well for all your favourite festival food.

March 16: Istanbul / Turkey New Attraction at Little World Inuyama in Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture. Featuring Turkish food, culture, goods and exhibitions. You can also try on some traditional Turkish costumes. Visit the website for more details http://www.littleworld.jp/english

April 6-7: Inuyama Matsuri at Inuyama-jo Castle in Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture. This festival first started in 1635 and features 13 parade floats, lavishly decorated and dating from the 17th century. They are paraded under the beautiful cherry blossoms. At night they are decorated with 365 paper lanterns (chochin).

April 6-7: Gifu Matsuri in the center of Gifu City. Kashimori Shrine, Inaba Shrine and Kogane Shrine host the festival, which features parade floats and street food vendors.

April 6-21: Tulip Festival at Kiso Sansen Koen in Kaizu City Gifu. The park is a blaze of colour with beautiful tulips that can be seen next to the cherry blossoms. There are also many events happening on the weekend. Open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday - Friday, and 800 am to 6:00 pm Saturday - Sunday. http://www.kisosansenkoen.go.jp/e/

April 14-15: Takayama Festival – one of the most spectacular festivals in Japan, featuring elaborate festival floats. The spring festival is also known as Sanno Festival. There are about a dozen festival floats or yatai as they are known in Japan, and each float is lit with 100 paper lanterns.

For more information on what is happening in Japan, you should check out the following travel guide books: (click on the image for more information)