Heading west from Kagemori Station on the Chichibu Railway, you’ll find a series of temples along the line, each boasting magnificent weeping cherry trees. It’s a bit of a distance, but it’s a leisurely stroll along the country road, admiring the cherry blossoms planted here and there along the way. Incidentally, the Arakawa River, which flows through downtown Tokyo, runs along the railway line. Here, it carves a deep gorge.
Shofukuji Temple
First, I started walking from Bushu-Hino Station. Although there were no signs, I climbed up beside a farmhouse and suddenly Shofuku-ji Temple appeared. The sight of the cherry blossoms adorning the temple gate, which you can see when you look up the stairs, is truly breathtaking. This spot is on a slight hill, so you can see the Chichibu Basin beyond the curtain of weeping cherry blossoms in front of you, with cherry blossoms visible everywhere. You can also see the Chichibu Railway, and you’ll probably even see the steam locomotives moving along, spewing black smoke.
Seiunj Temple and Wakajishi Shrine
Next, we head towards the weeping cherry tree forest at Seiunji Temple, which is often seen on posters. Along the way, we pass a shrine with a sumo wrestling ring. The weeping cherry trees at Seiunji Temple are simply breathtaking. If you climb the stairs of the adjacent Wakajishi Shrine and look down from above, you can enjoy an even more spectacular view of the weeping cherry forest. Incidentally, the protective statue at the entrance of this shrine is a wolf, not a guardian lion. Apparently, they light up the shrine at night during the cherry blossom festival, and the fact that there are stalls selling farming tools gives it a very rural festival feel.
source: Chichibumovies
Chosenji Temple
Finally, we visit Chōsenji Temple, famous for the revival of a giant weeping cherry tree that had once declined in vitality. Weeping cherry trees bloom earlier than Somei Yoshino cherry trees, so the giant white weeping cherry tree here has already shed its blossoms, but the temple grounds are beautifully maintained. Furthermore, this temple is worth visiting this year because it is unveiling its hidden Buddha statue for the Year of the Horse. However, since the unveiling is taking place in the back of the temple hall, which is quite dark, it is very difficult to see the face of the Kannon statue, making it almost as if it were not unveiled at all.
From here, I headed towards Urayamaguchi Station, surrounded by cherry blossoms, and returned to my accommodation.
