A hill that resembles a single painting
Hitsujiyama Park is located at the base of Mt. Bukoh of Chichibu City in the back of Saitama Prefecture. The north and south sides of the park are known as Misubarashi Hill and Shibazakura Hill respectively. The planting of moss phlox began in the year 2000, and with the number of flowers growing each year, even the mass media has started to pay attention. In 2014, 570,000 people visited the site which has become the tourist spot for Chichibu in spring. Moss phlox (shibazakura) is a perennial which originally came from North America. Its blossoms resemble those of the cherry (sakura) but spread across the ground like grass (shiba) which gives it its Japanese name. Since the colors, which can range through dark & light pink, white, violet and blue, and shape of the petals differ, there are many ways to enjoy view the flowers whether looking at them one-by-one up close or admiring the pink carpet from a distance. The peak time of mid-April to mid-May is also the time of the Shibazakura Festival where many people enjoy the specialty products of Chichibu and comfort food such as miso potatoes being sold.
Enjoying the park beyond its shibazakura
Hitsujiyama Park is famous for its moss phlox, but it is also the most famous spot in Chichibu for its cherry blossoms. About 1000 cherry trees of different species compete for beauty in the park. Misubarashi Hill where the cherries are planted doesn’t try to shut out the blue sky but uses the contrast between it and the cherry blossoms to symbolize a Japanese spring. Hitsujiyama (Sheep Mountain) was named after the fact that the area once had Saitama Prefecture’s sheep breeding farms. Even now within the park, there is a petting farm which has sheep, and elsewhere there is the Wanpaku Plaza for the athletically-minded, along with the Mt. Bukoh Museum and a museum showing the works of Shiko Munakata.