Family Fun at Hanamiyama, Fukushima

In Fukushima there is a mountain known as Hanamiyama, the cherry blossom viewing mountain, where my husband decided to take us on a small family trip during the first weekend in April. We were a little bit worried that the flowers wouldn't be in bloom because when we arrived in the prefecture the previous day, a lot of the cherry blossom viewing areas that we went by didn't have anything going on yet in the blossom opening department, despite there being advertisements at about cherry blossom viewing experiences happening around that time.

This wasn't our first trip to Hanamiyama, but it is the first trip to this place that we all enjoyed. 

We parked in the visitor's parking lot near the river and took the visitor's parking bus to the main area after paying a small fee.

The main area opened onto a road up the mountain with a couple of shopping areas to the side offering local snacks and crafts including woodwork and a locally sourced honey.

The path up to the mountain was excellent and had a few of it's own little shops right on the main street, lending the area the atmosphere of a little old Japanese town's shopping area, which is likely what it is in the off season anyway.

There was one sign for foreign tourists, asking us to "click here" which we attempted to do despite the nonsensical nature of "clicking" a large flat wooden sign. We then followed that path up a lovely hill and enjoyed the view. This was after we had gone up a different way and enjoyed a different hill.

Walking sticks were provided but we didn't take any.

The day had lots and lots of walking but even an out-of-shape thirty-something woman like me didn't have that hard of a time getting around. If you have severe mobility issues, this is likely not the best place to go for sakura viewing, but if you can walk well enough and take your time, this could be a fun option.

There were some really lovely photo ops set up near the top of the hills, including this lovely heart shape. We were also happy to find some food trucks up that way as well, offering coffee and tea as well as directions to a nearby port-a-potty.

The view as we walked was wonderful and well worth the effort of walking all the way up there.

On the way back, we stopped at one of the shops at the side of the road for cafe au lait soft serve ice cream and cucumbers on sticks. 

This is a fun little spring adventure for anyone who wants a little time out in nature, and it wasn't too crowded when we went so it was comfortable and easy to enjoy. We will be back.