Akagi Cherry Blossom Festival 赤城南面千本桜

Considered one of the top 100 cherry blossom viewing areas in Japan, Akagi is a great destination to enjoy cherry blossom season.

Located in Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture , the Akagi Nanmen Senbonzakura Cherry Blossom Festival is easy to access by public transportation.

From Tokyo, take the JR Joetsu Shinkansen to Takasaki Station. From there, transfer to the JR Ryomo Line and get off at Maebashi Station. The journey takes just over one hour.

Alternatively, take the JR Takasaki Line from Ueno Station to Maebashi Station. This route takes one hour and 45 minutes.

To get to the festival site, take one of the extra buses that run during the festival. You can take the bus from the south exit of Maebashi Station. A free one-day ticket costs 1,500 yen for adults and 750 yen for children. The bus stops at Gunma Flower Park and Senbonzakura Main Entrance, and the festival site is a five-minute walk from Senbonzakura Main Entrance.

The beautiful view of cherry blossoms stretches over 1.3 km of city roads on the southern face of Mt. Akagi . Trees line both sides of the path, creating a stunning soft pink tunnel. As the wind blows, their delicate flowers rain down dramatically.

During the blooming period, visitors can purchase food and drinks from one of the many stalls that are set up. You'll find a variety of Japanese festival foods like yakitori, yakisoba, and takoyaki. Note that the event does get crowded.

Depending on the weather, the timing of the cherry blossom viewing varies. In general, the cherry trees bloom around the beginning of April, but this changes as much as two weeks year to year.