murmurMito Plum Blossom Festival
Mito City · Kairakuen Garden and Kodokan
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Ibaraki Prefecture (Ibaraki Tourism) · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Feb 11 – Mar 22, 2026 （Ended）
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually mid February
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Runs from around mid-February to late March; dates are announced each year
- Venue
- Kairakuen Garden and Kodokan
- City
- Mito City, Ibaraki
About
Mito welcomes early spring with this plum blossom festival, which has a history of over 120 years and held its 130th edition in 2026. The main venue, Kairakuen, was created in 1842 by Tokugawa Nariaki, the ninth lord of the Mito domain, as a place for his people to relax, and it ranks with Kenrokuen in Kanazawa and Korakuen in Okayama as one of Japan's three great gardens. Its roughly 3,000 trees of about 100 varieties open in early, middle and late waves, which keeps the blossoms going for a long time. The other venue, Kodokan, was the Mito domain's school, opened in 1841, and it too has about 800 plum trees of around 60 varieties. Festival events include evening plum viewing, a fair of plum wines from all over Japan and outdoor tea under the trees, and volunteer guides can show you around.
Sources
- OfficialIbaraki Prefecture (Ibaraki Tourism) www.ibarakiguide.jp
- OfficialMito Tourism & Convention Association mitokoumon.com
Last checked: Oct 10, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.
Other events this month
On the day, see what locals are murmuring on the murmur map
murmur is an app that shows short, anonymous posts on a map, right where they were written. On festival day, open the map around the venue and see what people nearby are saying.