There are other reasons to come to Japan in February, but basking in the goodness of weeping plum trees in full bloom is reason enough to say TAKE MY MONEY.
Nowhere are they more glorious than at Soga Bairin, a plum-growing region just a short train ride from Tokyo in Odawara.
If you really want to see these beauties in their glory, skip the carefully manicured gardens and parks. The best ones are in more rural areas of Japan…
planted in the farm orchards where they grow plums for making ume-shū (Japanese plum wine), umeboshi (Japan’s iconic salty-sour pickled plums)…
and even plum-flavored ice cream.
The special magnificence of weeping plums is that the flowers open all long the trailing branches, so the trees look like they’re wearing a thousand Hawaiian leis.
Plum trees must be pruned much more artfully than cherries…
because the trunk and branches are still visible among the flowers…
adding to their especially Japanese style of beauty.
Plum trees of all colors are planted amid the fruiting varieties at Soga Bairin
And the colorful ornamental ones stand out even more against the vast number of white-flowered working trees, which are also blooming exuberantly.
But even the ones being grown for their fruit have a delicate beauty of their own, especially close-up.
Like the cherry blossoms, plums are beloved by the haiku masters for reasons deeper than their good looks. Cherry blossoms are a metaphor for life (especially the poignant briefness thereof), but plums stand for living bravely through adversity. Plum trees burst into bloom long before any other flowers, while other trees and plants still look dead and brown. At the time of year when you begin to fear winter will never end, plum blossoms remind us to have hope that spring is not so far off after all!
If you’d like to see more, here are the best plum blossom spots in Tokyo!
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There is a Soga Bairin Ume Matsuri (Plum Festival) that happens on weekends during the entire month of February, with stands selling food and plum products
When: Peak bloom for weeping plums at Soga Bairin happened five weeks before the peak cherry blossom forecast for Tokyo. These photos were taken on February 18, 2024 (Tokyo cherry blossom peak predicted for March 25, 2024).
Open: Every day
Hours: Never closes
Admission: Free
If you can’t make it out to Odawara, there are other places to see fabulous weeping plum trees closer to central Tokyo here.
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If you love seeing all kinds of Japanese flower extravaganzas…
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