When I think of spring flowers, plum blossoms and cherry blossoms come to mind first. However, I recently discovered the beauty of yellow flowers known as wintersweet or Japanese allspice (ROUBAI, 蝋梅 in Japanese). These flowers bloom before the plum blossoms, making their peak season from early January to early February. Although it still feels like winter, this period is considered spring according to the calendar.
I had been wanting to see these flowers for a long time, and my wish finally came true. Even though it was past their usual blooming season, I took a day off and traveled all the way from Chiba to Nagatoro to see them. It was a one-day trip to visit the famous wintersweet park at the top of Mt. Hodo (宝登山).
Mt. Hodo, standing at 497 meters, is located in Nagatoro, Chichibu, in Saitama Prefecture, which neighbors Chiba. At its peak, there is a 15,000-square-meter wintersweet park with around 3,000 trees. The view from the top is stunning—you can see many mountains and cities stretching into the distance.
It takes about two hours to reach Nagatoro Station, the closest station to Mt. Hodo, from Ikebukuro in Tokyo via the Seibu Railway and Chichibu Railway.
After arriving at Nagatoro Station, I decided to walk to the mountain, which took about an hour. Nagatoro Station itself is small and charming.
Nagatoro offers many activities, such as hot springs, flower viewing, mountain climbing, and river boating, making it one of the best destinations for a day trip from the Kanto region, including Tokyo and Chiba.
There is also a cable car that runs from the foot of the mountain to the top. If you take the cable car, it takes about 30 minutes from the station to the summit. Of course, we chose this option to save time! Like many mountains in Japan, Mt. Hodo is home to a shrine—Hodosan Jinja—near its peak. Below is the torii gate (outer gate) of the shrine.
Although it’s possible to hike to the top, we opted for the cable car due to time constraints. The view from the top was breathtaking.
At the summit, the landscape was partially covered with vibrant yellow wintersweet flowers. Against the backdrop of a clear blue sky, the flowers looked absolutely stunning!
Many people had come to admire the flowers, and some even took the time to sketch them.
Despite the arrival of spring on the calendar, traces of winter still lingered, with patches of snow remaining in some areas.
There’s a small zoo on the way to the mountaintop from the cable car stop. It doesn’t have large animals, but you’ll find plenty of rabbits and monkeys. While the mountain and flower park are free to enter, this zoo requires an admission fee.
The zoo is home to rabbits, monkeys, deer, miniature pigs, raccoon dogs, goats, and more. I love rabbits! Most of them were dashing around the park—except for her. She didn’t move at all, just basking happily in the sun 😊
She was the cutest one in the rabbit park🐰
I was surprised by how fast rabbits can move!
After enjoying the wintersweet blossoms and spending time with the animals, we visited Hodosan Jinja Shrine.
Not only wintersweet but also plum and cherry blossoms bloom around Mt. Hodo, attracting many visitors from mid-January to April. The plum blossoms were just starting to bloom.
Some had already started blooming🌸
By the way, wintersweet is called “蝋梅 (Rōbai)” in Japanese. Since “梅 (bai)” means “plum,” many people, including me, assume that wintersweet is a type of plum. But it turns out that’s not the case!
Visiting Mt. Hodo during wintersweet season was a fantastic experience. The combination of beautiful flowers, crisp air, and spectacular views made it a perfect day trip. If you’re looking for a unique floral experience beyond cherry blossoms and plum blossoms, I highly recommend making the trip to Nagatoro to see these charming yellow blooms!
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