{"id":245432,"date":"2019-04-25T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitmatsumoto.com\/?p=245432"},"modified":"2019-04-25T01:11:52","modified_gmt":"2019-04-24T16:11:52","slug":"mountains-of-blossoms-part-two-hikarijo-yama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/nature\/mountains-of-blossoms-part-two-hikarijo-yama\/","title":{"rendered":"Mountains of Blossoms – Part Two: Hikarijo-yama"},"content":{"rendered":"\"\"\n

Take the Shinonoi Line north out of Matsumoto Station and before long you’ll see Hikarijo-yama pass by on your right. If it’s cherry blossom season you’ll see a line of flowering trees running up the side of the mountain – pinkish-white popcorn contrasting with the browns and greens of the nascent Spring.<\/p>\n

If you jump off the train at Tazawa Station and walk up the street you can take a stroll right up the belly of that popcorny flowery snake.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

A steep side road gets you to the trailhead parking lot where, oddly considering this is Japan, there’s a bathroom and not much else.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Don’t mind the bear warnings. The groups of hiking retirees do a thorough and honorable job of keeping them all away.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

It’s a good steady climb up the side of Hikarijo-yama…<\/p>\n\"\"\n

…but it doesn’t take long for the views to take your mind off the effort.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

On the way up the path splits in several places. Take your pick, they all lead to the top. I think.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Whichever way you go, you’ll likely not be disappointed.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

When you reach the point where the blossoming snake fattens and flattens out you know you’re almost at the top.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

At the top take some time to soak up the wide open views of the Fuchu Plains below and the Northern Alps to the west.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

And of course, there’s plenty of room for a little O-hanami.<\/p>\n

Want to go ahead and check out Hikarijo-yama for yourself? Awesome. The train ride to Tazawa Station is a shade under ten minutes from Matsumoto. But be warned: trains only depart about once every ninety minutes. Once you get off at Tazawa you have a thirty minute walk to the trailhead. The hike up the mountain itself is another forty-five minutes to an hour.<\/p>\n

This might all seem like a bit too much time and effort. But in cherry blossom season, a trip to Hikarijo-yama is worth your while.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

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