Every year at the Fuji Shibazakura Festival, a beautiful carpet of bright pink flowers rolls out beneath Japan’s tallest and most majestic mountain, Mt. Fuji.
The Fuji Shibazakura Festival (Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri or the Fuji Moss Phlox Festival in English) is one of the most popular seasonal events nationwide as it allows visitors to celebrate the spring seasons with hundreds of thousands of shibazakura (pink moss or moss phlox in English).
The best time to see the flowers varies from year to year but usually runs from the last week of April through the first three weeks of May. Approximately 800,000 stalks of shibazakura of five varieties are on display, producing delightful fields of pink, white, and purple hues.
Excited to add this to your Japan travel itinerary? This guide will give you all the details on how to get there, what to expect, and how to have the best time possible at the Fuji Shibazakura Festival.
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Table of Contents
About The Fuji Shibazakura Flower Festival
Festival Dates: April 12 – May 25, 2025
Venue Location: Fuji Motosuko Resort, located in the south of Lake Motosuko in the Fuji Five Lakes area
Festival Hours: The festival generally runs daily from 8am – 4pm, but opening hours may vary during peak periods (such as Golden Week).
Admission: 1000-1300 yen (depending on the state of the bloom). Peak bloom dates + Golden Week are more expensive than other dates.
Parking: 500-1000 yen per car
👉 Missed the window to visit the Fuji Shibazakura Festival? Fuji Motosuko Resort is also home to the Rainbow Flower Festival which takes place in the early fall season. From the yellow, red, pink, and orange zinnias to the contrast of Rudbeckias’ golden yellow petals and green pistils—you’ll find fifteen types of flowers filling the foot of Mount Fuji with color.
What To Expect At The Fuji Shibazakura Festival
Expect to be WOWED by the sheer amount of pink you’ll see at this festival!
As soon as you park or get dropped off by the shuttle bus (or park your car if you’re driving yourself there), you’ll hand over your entrance ticket to a staff member before entering.
Upon entering, you’ll begin to see a sea of pink moss phlox around you! You can choose your own adventure here, choosing to start with the cute little Peter Rabbit English Garden area or diving right into the pink flower fields!
I chose to start with the moss phlox because I had a feeling it was going to get way more crowded later on in the day.
(This was the right move. As the time got closer to 12pm, the crowds grew and grew. More and more tour buses started showing up, likely to drop off day-trippers from Tokyo. My recommendation? Show up early! The hours between 8am and 11am see way less crowds compared to the afternoon hours.)
The cool thing about it is that not all of the flower fields are decorated in the same way. Some are going to be massive pink fields of the same shade and the same style of color, while others are decorated in patterns using different colored flowers.
One of my favorites was this pink white and green checkered flower field overlooking a mini lagoon.
You can also head towards the back of the park for all the photo opportunities and props that are available for people to take pictures with.
Among the props are a rowboat that’s situated within a flower field, a yellow door that opens to a view of Mount Fuji (if it’s a clear day, that is), and a pink storybook frame.
There’s also a mound of flowers decorated to look like Mount Fuji, which is situated in a way that you can actually get a picture of the real Mount Fuji with the flower version of Mount Fuji!
Unfortunately, on the day of my visit, it was relatively overcast in the morning (and it was forecasted to be that way all day) so there were no Mount Fuji views to pair along with all the great photos of the flower fields.
It was a bummer, but the beauty of all the flowers was enough to keep me satisfied!
While you’re here, don’t miss a climb up the observation deck — you’ll be able to see all the fields at the same time which is an amazing sight!
In one corner of the park, you’ll find various vendors selling Shibazakura Festival souvenirs and other souvenirs related to Mount Fuji. I ended up buying some Japanese peach tea here as well as the “No.1 Bestseller” Fuji Shibazakura Festival-themed sakura mochi.
You’ll even find mini portions of moss phlox plants being sold here! If you’re an international traveler, you likely won’t be able to bring these home with you, but it was still cute to think you could bring home a slice of your colorful experience with you!
FOOD: When you get hungry, you’ll find about a dozen food trucks scattered around the back of the venue close to the Peter Rabbit Garden Cafe.
If you’re feeling meat skewers, yakisoba, takoyaki, fried chicken, desserts, or other street snacks, opt for the food trucks. Once you get your food, you can head to one of the picnic tables to enjoy your snack.
How to buy food: All of the food trucks are cashless and you need to order electronically. You’ll need to put your order into a tablet (located on the side of each food truck), pay by IC card or credit card (or Alipay, etc.), and finally take your order tickets to the food truck staff. They’ll prepare your order right then and there!
You can also eat at the Peter Rabbit Cafe. At the café in the garden, you can enjoy original menus with authentic flavors inspired by various items that appear in the Peter Rabbit picture book series. They have roast beef plates, meat curries, rice bowls, etc.
While you’re in the Peter Rabbit area, you can also climb the viewing tower for more aerial views. I really enjoyed the expansive view from up here, but during the busier hours of the day, you might feel a bit rushed to start heading down as the manmade tower can only fit so many people.
SHOPPING: From there, check out the souvenir shop filled with ALLLLL the cute Peter Rabbit characters. I don’t know what this obsession with Peter Rabbit is, but even I started getting obsessed with how cute all the merch was!
As I previously mentioned, there are a couple of other souvenir stores towards the side of the park where you can pick up Mount Fuji-themed goodies and confectionaries.
Once you’re done, just head back to the entrance of the park. Towards the entrance, there are some really pretty views of the rest of the park. You’ll find heart-shaped patterns made with the flowers in this area, as well as a few benches to sit on (for photos).
Once you manage to tear yourself away from the beauty of the park and actually exit, you’ll find the shuttle to depart in the same area where you were dropped off.
Ticketing Options For The Fuji Shibazakura Festival
Admission (for 2025): 1000-1300 yen depending on the state of the bloom
During peak bloom (from late April to the first few days of May), you can expect the admission fee to be slightly higher than the later dates of the festival.
If you need roundtrip transportation along with your ticket, you can purchase them together either online or at Kawaguchiko Station.
Shuttle + Admission (for 2025): 2,500 yen
You don’t need to purchase tickets in advance unless you are opting for a day trip tour from Tokyo (combines transportation + and admission ticket).
Because of how popular this seasonal event is, some tour companies will hold seasonal day trips that bring Tokyo-based visitors to the festival for the day. More on that below.
What I did: Since my visit was part of a longer 4-day adventure in the Fuji Five Lakes area, I only needed to find my way to the festival from Kawaguchiko Station. On the morning of my visit, I went inside Kawaguchiko Station and bought both bus tickets and my entrance ticket directly from the bus ticket window. I paid with my IC card. Easy peasy.
Getting There: Transportation Options
The Shibazakura Festival is located at the Fuji Motosuko Resort, about 30 minutes west of Kawaguchiko.
From Kawaguchiko
If you’re staying locally, getting to the festival will just be one shuttle bus ride away. Head to Kawaguchiko Station and find the bus stop that’s dedicated to the Shibazakura Festival. With pink flags and pink signs, it should be easy to spot.
A dedicated Fuji Shibazakura Festival shuttle bus departs every 30 – 60 minutes from Kawaguchiko Station. In 2024, shuttle bus times departing for the festival were: 8:35, 9:05, 9:35, 10:35, 11:05, 11:35, 12:35, 13:15, and 14:15.
Exact times may change from year to year, so take that with a grain of salt! The latest information will always be at the main train station, Kawaguchiko Station.
Even though there are signs saying you can buy tickets at the bus kiosk located at the actual bus stop, you can also buy tickets inside the station itself.
Obviously, if you have a car, you can just drive yourself there.
From Tokyo: The Hassle-Free Way
If you don’t want to deal with all the logistics of getting to the Fuji Shibazakura Festival on your own, I’d recommend you book one of these bus tours that depart from Tokyo and bring you directly to the festival.
Direct Coach Bus to the Fuji Shibazakura Festival: Departs and drops off at Shinjuku Station.
Fuji Five Lakes Full-Day Sightseeing Tour: Departing from Tokyo, this full-day tour includes a visit to the Fuji Shibazakura Festival and takes you to explore other parts of the Fuji Five Lakes region, like Mt Fuji 5th Station, Arakurayama Sengen Park, Yamanakako Hot Spring, and more.
Mt. Fuji Flower Festival & Ropeway & Fruit Picking Tour: Departing from Tokyo, this full-day tour includes a visit to the Fuji Shibazakura Festival, a visit to Yamanashi Orchard (where you can eat and pick as many seasonal fruits as you can), Mt Fuji 5th Station, and the Mt Kachi-Kachi Ropeway.
From Tokyo: The DIY Way
From Tokyo, you’ll want to take the train from wherever you are to Kawaguchiko Station (Lake Kawaguchiko). Your train travel will have one transfer point at Otsuki Station.
The entire trip from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko Station typically takes around 2 to 2.5 hours, including transfer time at Otsuki Station.
From Kawaguchiko Station, you’ll then want to buy roundtrip tickets for the dedicated shuttle bus that’ll take you to the festival.
Here’s an example from Shinjuku Station:
- Get to Otsuki Station: Board the JR Chuo Line Rapid service from Shinjuku Station heading towards Otsuki. This train departs frequently, and the journey takes about 1 hour.
- Transfer at Otsuki Station: Upon arrival at Otsuki Station, transfer to the Fujisan Limited Express, the Fuji Excursion train, or a local Fujikyu Railway train to Kawaguchiko Station. The journey from Otsuki to Kawaguchiko takes approximately 50 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the train service. You will need to purchase a separate ticket for this leg of the journey, as it is operated by a different company.
For the Fuji Excursion train, I’d recommend you reserve your seat in advance, especially during peak travel seasons (cherry blossoms, fall foliage, Golden Week). Tickets can be purchased at JR ticket offices or online.
Practical Tips For Your Visit
- Thinking of visiting super early or way late in the festival season? Be sure to check the live camera on the festival’s official site to see the current status of the flowers. If the flowers are not yet blooming (or no longer blooming), it may not be worth going.
- The best time to visit is late April to early May. During these initial weeks of the festival, the moss phlox is at its most vibrant. The photos in this post were taken on May 8th.
- Wear comfortable walking shoes during your visit. While the festival grounds is not big like a botanical garden or zoo is, it’s still pretty sizable. You’ll inevitably get some steps in, so make sure your footwear is comfortable.
- Try to visit before 12pm. Otherwise, the crowd levels become unpleasant and people start getting in your way for photos!
- Don’t miss the Peter Rabbit English Garden area, even if you’re not a fan of him! The area is super cute to explore.
- Be sure to check when Golden Week is, as this period will be especially crowded. (I’d try to avoid visiting during this week if you can.) I asked a worker how busy it was during Golden Week (which ended a few days before my visit) and he told me it was 3x as busy. No thanks! Weekends are also much busier than weekdays.
- If you’re spending multiple days in the Fuji Five Lakes area, try to time your visit for a really clear and sunny day. Cloudy, overcast skies can mean a hidden Mount Fuji all day long. Mount Fuji views are always a gamble!
- While the park isn’t all that big, there is a lot to take in. Allow yourself around two to three hours to enjoy the experience. This should be enough time to explore all the fields, peruse the gift shops, have a coffee or grab a bite to eat, and use the restrooms.
- Don’t want to ask someone to take your photo? Bring a tripod for your phone! Here’s the one I used at the Fuji Sibazakura Festival. It comes with a Bluetooth remote so you can take photos without needing to set up any timers!
Other Things To Do Nearby
Lake Motosu Viewpoint
This is the famous view of Mount Fuji as seen on the 1,000 yen bill! On a clear day, you’ll be able to see Mount Fuji’s reflection in the water.
Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nenba
Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nenba is a reconstructed traditional Japanese village located on the western shore of Lake Saiko. This open-air museum features thatched-roof houses that have been turned into craft shops, museums, and restaurants, providing a glimpse into Japan’s rural past.
Explore Kawaguchiko
At Kawaguchiko, you can enjoy a scenic boat ride on the lake, savor delicious houtou noodles, explore the iconic Oishi Park, and visit fascinating museums and viewpoints offering stunning views of Mount Fuji.
If you’ve got the time to spare, I’d recommend at least an overnight stay in the Kawaguchiko + Fuji Five Lakes area. There’s simply too much magic and fun to be had in this area!
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