--- title: Yaedake Sakura no Mori Park and the Motobu Yaedake Cherry Blossom Festival url: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/notes/yaedake-sakura-no-mori-park/ lang: en journey: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/episodes/okinawa-sakura/ --- # Yaedake Sakura no Mori Park and the Motobu Yaedake Cherry Blossom Festival A little of each town’s story　/　Motobu, Okinawa Mt. Yaedake, 453.4 meters high, stands on the border of Motobu and Nago and is the second-highest peak on Okinawa's main island. About 7,000 kanhizakura trees line the roughly 4-kilometer road from mid-slope to the summit. The Motobu Yaedake Cherry Blossom Festival, with the slogan hitoashi osaki ni (a step ahead), is said to be Japan's earliest cherry blossom festival; the first was held in January 1979. The 45th, in 2023, ran from January 21 to February 5 with Yaedake Sakura no Mori Park as the main venue, and the trees were about 40 percent in bloom on opening day. 921 Namisato, Motobu, Kunigami District, Okinawa ## This moment in the journey: Japan's earliest cherry blossom festival At Mt. Yaedake, deep pink blossoms covered the branches: Ryukyu kanhizakura. At the entrance stood a photo cut-out board for the 45th Motobu Yaedake Cherry Blossom Festival, with a note saying the trees were at 80 percent bloom today. Paper lanterns were strung across the road and sakura banners fluttered in the wind. I walked under the cherry trees. The stalls sold shaved ice and cotton candy, goat soup, and taiyaki. It felt less like a flower festival than a fairground. A pink sign by the road read: when the Yaedake petals dance, chimu-dondon. In the Okinawan language, chimu-dondon means a pounding heart. Up the mountain road, the sea appeared beyond the blossoms. Haru deemun: because it's spring. ![The festival cut-out board and a road strung with lanterns](https://karigurashijourney.com/img/okinawa-sakura/s39-1200.jpg) - Sources: https://www.motobu-ka.com/tourist_info/tourist_info-post-679/ - Sources: https://rurubu.jp/andmore/spot/80093594 - Sources: https://ryukyushimpo.jp/photo/entry-1652872.html - Sources: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/八重岳 Read this scene in the full journey: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/episodes/okinawa-sakura/