What could go wrong?

For all the beautiful cherry blossom sites in central Tokyo, there are some that receive even more praise within the wider Kanto region in which Tokyo is located, and what makes them even more special is the fact that they’re much less crowded than their city counterparts.

One such spot is Gongendo Sakura Tsutsumi in Satte City in Tokyo’s neighbouring prefecture of Saitama, where you can walk through a “tunnel” of approximately 1,000 sakura trees along a one-kilometre (0.6-mile) embankment. The contrast in colour between the pale pink sakura and the field of bright yellow rape flowers beside it creates a stunning landscape that draws visitors from far and wide.

▼ The picture-perfect site is so beautiful it’s become a popular filming location for movies.

Our reporter Mariko Ohanabatake, whose surname translates to “Flower Field”, was keen to escape the mad crowds of sakura sightseers in Tokyo in search of a quieter cherry blossom experience at Gongendo, but in her excitement, she set out on her journey without any planning.

As an experienced traveller, she didn’t anticipate there would be any problems with this approach, but she ended up encountering quite a few obstacles that drained her energy and detracted from the joy of the day. So if you’d like to jump on a train and enjoy the stunning beauty of Gongendo, she has a few handy pointers and tips for you below, so you can enjoy a smoother journey than she did…

The first thing she did was hop on a train from Kitasenju Station in Tokyo to Satte Station in Saitama, which took around 35 minutes. After hopping off here, around 70 percent of the passengers on the train got off with her, suggesting this was going to be a very popular sakura festival.

As she walked through the station, she could see posters promoting the cherry blossom site all around, which raised her levels of excitement and anticipation.

While Mariko hadn’t done any planning for her trip, she had done a bit of research into the site, where she learned that Gongendo has been ranked in a lot of polls as the best cherry blossom-viewing spot in Kanto, even overtaking more famous spots in central Tokyo such as Chidorigafuchi and Meguro River.

With a spring in her step, Mariko now had to take the bus, which would take her to Kanto’s top cherry blossom-viewing site in around 10 minutes. However, when she rocked up at the stop, she saw an information stand that had been set up for the festival, and it was there that a member of the executive committee of the Cherry Blossom Festival gave her some terrible news.

▼ “The bus appears to be running around 90 minutes late, and it might take an hour to get to the site due to traffic so it would be better to walk.”

If she were to go by bus, it would now get her to the site around two-and-a-half hours later than planned, so she reluctantly decided to walk to the site, feeling thankful that she’d at least worn some comfortable shoes.  Staff told her the walk should take between 30 and 40 minutes, so she decided to set out a leisurely pace.

As she began walking, she noticed people around her were dressed in hiking gear, with caps, backpacks, and walking sticks, as if they were going to climb a mountain. The road to the site seemed straight and flat, so she wasn’t sure what this was about and just continued walking.

▼ Gongendo has a west side (left) and east side (right), the latter of which was furthest from the station.

In the end, it took Mariko around an hour to arrive at the site as she mistakenly headed to the west side of the embankment first. By that point, her legs were aching.

▼ Seeing the sign at the entrance to the site made Mariko want to weep tears of joy.

It was so beautiful she managed to forget all about her aching legs and the arduous journey to get here. The cherry blossoms were at 70-percent bloom, creating a pale pink canopy above.

▼ Mariko, smiling in joy at her achievement.

The blossoms seemed even more beautiful after walking so far to see them, but her feet still had some distance to take her as she meandered through the food stalls and along the one-kilometre stretch of trees at the festival.

The vibe was fun and upbeat, with everyone in as good a mood as Mariko. As she strolled along, she found the contrast between sakura-pink and sky-blue was breathtaking.

▼ Then, the wide field of rape flowers simply took her breath away.

This was her first time seeing so many rape flowers in one spot, and as she walked through the walkway that flowed through the field…

▼ …she stopped in awe at the row of sakura trees peeking out over the golden flowers.

The vibrant hues of rape flower, sakura and sky made for a beautiful scene, and “Flower Field” Mariko found herself feeling strangely moved as she looked out at the beauty of the landscape.

As she was soaking up the beauty, she found she was also soaking up something else — the smell of rape flowers through her olfactory senses.

With this being her first experience with the flowers, which are also known as canola, she had no idea they smelled this funky. The scent was strong, rich and pungent, even penetrating the mask she’d worn to protect her from seasonal allergies, and as she walked along, she could hear other visitors commenting on how strong the smell was.

Some aren’t bothered by the scent, though, and as she walked along, Mariko found herself becoming bothered by something else — the lack of benches.

After walking for so long, Mariko was yearning to sit down, but the only place to sit along this long embankment was on the green grass, where people were seated on picnic rugs and tarp sheets, as is the way with hanami flower-viewing picnics.

If Mariko’s legs didn’t feel like heavy logs, she would’ve kicked herself for not thinking to bring a picnic mat with her. Lamenting the fact that she couldn’t take a seat and truly soak up the beauty of the blossoms, she bid a sad farewell to the beautiful scenery…

▼ …and set out on her return journey to the station.

The bus seemed late again, with a long line of people waiting at the bus stop (as seen above), so she decided to suck it up and walk back to the station.

The walk to the station took her 40 minutes, and when she got home and checked her pedometer, she saw she’d walked around 10 kilometres in total.

It was a great day out, but an exhausting one that could’ve been better if she’d received some advice from someone who’d visited earlier. So, to help you avoid the hassle she experienced, she has the following advice for visitors:

– Keep in mind that you may have to walk from the station
– You should wear comfortable walking shoes
– The east end of the bank is closer to the station
– If you come by car, be prepared for traffic jams
– You should bring a picnic rug or tarp to sit on
– Be prepared to smell the rape flowers

All in all, the vibrant scenery of Gongendo is so beautiful that it blows away the hard work it takes to get there, so even if you do have to walk, you won’t be disappointed. Just remember to wear some comfortable walking shoes, and if you’re in Tokyo and don’t want to walk anywhere at all, then this chauffeur service will be right up your alley.

Related: Sightseeing information for Satte City’s Cherry Blossom Festival
Photos©SoraNews24
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