Hitachi Cherry Blossom Festival 2025 and Hitachi Furyumono, Hitachi City (April 1-13) | News

News

2025.03.28Hitachi Cherry Blossom Festival 2025 and Hitachi Furyumono, Hitachi City (April 1-13)

Every April, Hitachi City in northern Ibaraki is filled with four thousand cherry blossoms during the annual Hitachi Cherry Blossom Festival. This festival, which marks its 60^th year this year, is held in various locations across the city. There are numerous special performances and events scheduled, with the Hitachi Furyumono as the highlight, as well as night-time illuminations and lantern displays at main cherry blossom viewing spots around Hitachi.

The most popular place to see sakura in Hitachi City is Heiwa Street, which is just outside of JR Hitachi Station, making it a very easy destination to visit, even from Tokyo, as it is only a 1 hour and a half express train ride away! Heiwa Street has even been voted as one of Japan’s top 100 cherry blossom viewing spots thanks to the 120 Somei-Yoshino cherry blossoms trees which line this 1-kilometer stretch of road. When these sakura reach full bloom, they create a gorgeous enveloping tunnel of pink blossoms which are illuminated at night. During the festival’s peak time, which is April 5 (Sat) and 6 (Sun), visitors can enjoy many stalls offering food, games, and drinks, along with events held throughout the day. The main road is fully pedestrianized for these two days as well as for the evening illumination held from April 4 (Fri).

Another great spot for sakura viewing is Kamine Park, also considered one of Japan’s top 100 cherry blossom spots, which is a picturesque park located at the base of Mount Kurakake.

Here, over a thousand cherry blossom trees, made up of more than 20 different varieties, including rare sakura like the green Gyoiko and the yellow Ukon, stand against a backdrop of panoramic views. Not just a great spot for cherry blossoms, Kamine Park also has an amusement park and a zoo on its grounds making it a great spot for fun with all the family.

Juo Panorama Park, which overlooks the Juo Dam, is the third spot for seeing beautiful sakura in Hitachi. This park is home to over 35 different varieties of sakura trees, including mountain cherry blossom. Visitors can enjoy gorgeous and panoramic views of this sakura and Hitachi City from the park’s observation deck.

The main event of the festival, known as the Hitachi Furyumono, will be held on April 5 and 6. The Hitachi Furyumono refers to unique giant floats that serve as stages for puppet theater performances based on Japanese history and folk tales. A float, reaching up to 15 meters in height, 8 meters in width, and weighing up to 5 tons, is equipped with intricate mechanical contraptions called “Karakuri”. Enhanced with Karakuri, the float transforms right before your eyes into a five-level performance stage, with puppet dolls moving and even changing appearance during the acts. After one performance finishes, the float spins 180 degrees, revealing a new stage.

The Hitachi Furyumono is a nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property and is on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. There are only four of these floats, and each year, only one of them participates in the festival, so don`t miss out! (The full set can be seen once every seven years at the Grand Festival of Kamine Shrine.)

Among other events held throughout the main days of the festival, there will also be a special performance on April 6 (Sun) of the “Hitachi Sasara”, a traditional dance that is a designated Ibaraki Prefecture Intangible Folk Cultural Property. It will be performed only twice, at midday and at 14:00, so make sure to catch one of these performances.