Ogose Bairin

Published: Aug 11, 2026

Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Ogose Bairinplum blossomOgosefestivalancient tree

Representative image — not a photograph of this location.

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.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

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

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

Entrance Fee

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

Best Season

Mid-February–mid March for plum blossom

Visit Duration

1.5–2 hours

Getting There

Access Information

Doyama, Ogose Town, Iruma District. About 20 minutes on foot 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.

Insider Guide

Premium

**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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