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Jan 1, 2026

Your favourite robai, or wintersweet spots

To bust out of my winter funk, I want to take in some early winter sights and scents. What are your recommended wintersweet, or robai, spots? When are they at their best?

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TonetoEdo

TonetoEdo

Living between the Tone and Edo Rivers in Higashi Katsushika area of Chiba Prefecture.

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  • BigfamJapan

    BigfamJapan

    on Jan 8

    Mt Hodo is probably the most famous spot in Saitama. I liked it there, with about 3000 trees the smell is magnificent. But its hard to time it. Sometimes they start blooming as early as the end of December, but this year they didn't have any updates before the New Year. I don't know if that's because they hadn't started blooming or if the person who used to update the website is now in a different department! Regardless, the best time to see them is probably the end of January to early February. And the benefit of February is that you can also see plum blossoms in bloom.

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  • genkidesu

    genkidesu

    on Jan 2

    Out here in Niigata, Toyanogata Park is a known spot for them, and mid-January is usually the peak. Might not be the most convenient spot for those in Tokyo and surrounds, though, since it's a bit far to travel. Closer to Tokyo, the Yadoriki Wintersweet Garden in Kanagawa is the biggest collection of wintersweet in all of Japan, apparently!

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  • BigfamJapan

    BigfamJapan

    on Jan 8

    ... I look forward to hearing where you ended up going and what you thought!

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  • TonetoEdo

    TonetoEdo

    on Jan 9

    @BigfamJapan Ah, the Nagatoro website indicates the dates for Hodosan Robai Matsuri - February 1st to 28th. I'm tempted to go!

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  • TonetoEdo

    TonetoEdo

    on Jan 9

    @genkidesu This looks really tempting for an overnight trip, as the train journey takes about 3 hours from where I live

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