Plum season in Atami: a guide to Atami Baien

Atami Baien's plum festival runs from early January to early March: 469 trees of 60 varieties, said to bloom first in Japan. When to go, entry and access.

By your host13 October 20262 min read

fig. 01Our red plum by the deck, under February snow.17:00 · February

Most of Japan waits for the cherry blossom. In Atami, spring starts in January, with the ume. Atami Baien, the town's plum garden, opened in 1886 and today holds 469 plum trees of 60 varieties, some of them more than a hundred years old. It's said to have the earliest plum blossom in Japan, and the latest autumn leaves.

When to go

The plum festival runs from early January to early March; in 2026 it ran from 10 January to 8 March. Early varieties open first, then the mid-season and late ones, so something is usually in flower right through the festival, red, pink and white side by side.

Entry is free for most of the year. During the festival there's a charge from 8:30 to 16:00: in 2026 it was ¥300 for adults and ¥100 for guests staying in Atami. Check the tourist association's page before you go.

Getting there

From Atami Station, take a bus bound for Ainohara-danchi and get off at Baien, about 15 minutes. Or take the JR Ito Line one stop to Kinomiya, about 3 minutes, and walk for about 10. Kinomiya Shrine and its camphor, more than 2,000 years old, are close by, so it's easy to see both in a morning.

Tips

Go early: mornings are quieter.
Weekdays are calmer than weekends, especially in February.
Dress warmly; the garden sits in a valley and the shade is cold in January.
The Sawada Seikō Memorial Museum of Art is right next to the garden if you want to come in from the cold.

Autumn at the same garden

Come back in late autumn for the maple festival. In 2026 it runs from 14 November to 6 December, with free entry and the maples lit up from 16:30 to 21:00. The garden has about 380 trees that turn red, later here than almost anywhere in Japan.

The plum tree in our garden

At Atami Umihoshi, the plum season comes to the deck. The Kagoshima red plum beside it was a gift from the previous owner's father when the house changed hands. It flowers deep red in February, and by June its branches are heavy with fruit. Guests who stay in season pick some with us, free, and take a bag home with our umeshu recipe.