Ogose Bairin

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Recherche et rédaction Hinato

Ogose Bairinplum blossomOgosefestivalancient tree

Photo: 京浜にけ / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · original

Ogose Bairin is counted among the three great plum groves of the Kanto region and holds about a thousand trees, including one called Kaisetsu that is reckoned to be more than 670 years old and is still flowering. Plums were planted here from the fourteenth century, brought by monks connected to Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto, which is the standard route by which plum groves arrive anywhere in Japan.

Plum blossom is a quieter proposition than cherry — it opens over a month rather than a week, it is scented, and the crowds are a fraction. The festival runs from mid-February into mid-March with a miniature steam engine, local drumming and stalls at weekends. The Ogose valley behind it is walking country, and the town has built a set of marked routes over the low hills.

Informations essentielles

Horaires d'ouverture

8:30 AM – 4:00 PM during the plum festival

Fermé: The grove operates as a paid site during the festival only; confirm current arrangements outside it

Tarif d'entrée

¥500 junior high school students and over during the festival | Parking ¥500 per car

Meilleure saison

Mid-February–mid March for plum blossom

Durée de visite

1.5–2 hours

Comment s'y rendre

Informations d'accès

Doyama, Ogose Town, Iruma District. About a short walk from Ogose Station on the Tobu Ogose Line, or a short bus. The 2026 plum festival ran 14 February to 15 March, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Admission ¥500 for junior high school students and over during the festival. Parking during the festival ¥500 for a car, ¥1,000 for a microbus, ¥1,500 for a coach. Weekend and public holiday events include a miniature steam engine, local hayashi music and taiko.

Guide d'initié

**Plum lasts a month, cherry lasts a week.** Different varieties open in sequence from mid-February to mid-March, so there is no single peak day to chase and no reason to go at the weekend. **Kaisetsu is over 670 years old.** One tree, signposted, still flowering. Worth finding rather than walking past. **It is scented.** This is the difference from cherry blossom that nobody mentions until they are standing in it, and it is stronger on a still warm afternoon. **Ogose is a walking town.** Marked routes run from the grove over the hills to Kuroyama Three Falls and up Mount Daikan. The tourist office at the station has maps. **Yamabuki no Sato is nearby.** A garden of yellow kerria that flowers in April, after the plums, and the town's other flower site.

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