Cherry Blossom Festival

Festival Location: Okinawa, Japan

Festival Type(s): Flower Shows, Local Festivals, Traditional Festivals

Cherry Blossom Festival

by © Linda Gillis 2009

Visitors come from all over the island, from mainland Japan, and even from other countries to see the earliest sign of the approaching spring.

The beautiful blossoms are just one of the many wonderful sites, sounds and smells of this awesome festival.

The festival itself has many highlights including all sorts of delicious food, games, rides, parades, folk music, concerts, folk dancers, flower displays, kimono shows, religious ceremonies and a beauty pageant.

A winding path of over 700 stone steps leads you up to the Nago Castle site. The path is lined with beautiful ishidoro or stone lanterns. About half way up the path you will find a Torii Gate and a Shinto Shrine providing a lovely place to rest and either take pictures or videotape the scenery.

Everywhere you look is a sea of color. The millions of pink blossoms make a gorgeous backdrop for all the colorful costumes, floats, paper lanterns and booth decorations. Even though the festival lasts only one weekend, the cherry blossoms are in bloom from two to four weeks.

If you decide to take part in this wonderful festival you should head north on Highway 58. You can follow the signs or just follow the traffic - you can't miss it. The earlier you leave, the lighter the traffic will be. If you leave after 10 a.m. you can expect the drive to last nearly two hours, especially if you go on Sunday. There is a fee for parking, but it should be easy to find and quite plentiful.

For more information on the Cherry Blossom Festival just watch the papers or call the REACH Center on Kadena Air Base. There may even be bus trips sponsored on one or more of the military bases that you can join.

This is one of those festivals you absolutely don't want to miss, so don't let the traffic or the crowds intimidate you. Just get out there and have some fun!

by Linda Gillis

Cherry Blossom Festival Dates and Location

One of the most colorful festivals in Okinawa has taken place every January in Nago since 1928. In that year school children from Nago planted the first cherry trees on the island at the Nago Castle site, the highest hill in the area. Each year school children have planted more and more cherry trees until the groves cover the double hills overlooking the center of the city. Thousands of trees bloom each year creating oceans of beautiful pink blossoms.