Fuji Shibazakura Festival

The Fuji Shibazakura Festival transforms the fields at the base of Mt. Fuji into a vast carpet of pink, white, and purple moss phlox each spring, typically from mid-April through late May. Around 800,000 shibazakura plants bloom simultaneously across the festival grounds, creating a vivid foreground against the snow-capped peak of Fuji. The festival includes food stalls specializing in regional dishes like Fujinomiya yakisoba and Kofu hoto noodles. Weekday mornings offer the best combination of thin crowds and clear mountain views, as fog and haze tend to build by afternoon and weekends can be extremely busy.