With plum blossoms scent the sun is peeking out on this mountain trail.

Haiku by (Matsuo Basho)

While Japan has always been known for its haven of cherry blossoms in springtime, a couple of months before their bloom around mid-March, exquisite plums start to sprout as early as mid-January in most places. These tiny, charming flora in dark and light pink, yellow, and white carry auspicious meanings in Japanese culture.

Called ume in Japanese, plums symbolise tolerance and endurance as they brave the chills of winter, signifying; therefore, the beauty of life amidst harsh circumstances. The early buds usher hope and renewal, and remind Japanese of new beginnings as winter fades to welcome spring. For these reasons, plums appear in Japanese New Year greeting cards, literature, art, and proverbs. In paintings, scrolls, prints, and other ornamental designs, they are often accompanied by the Japanese nightingale. This image coincides with the popular Japanese saying, “Ume ni Uguisu,” metaphorically indicating a “match made in heaven” between the elegant plums and the charismatic bird.

Among the numerous plum parks spread throughout Japan, the Atami Plum Garden, commonly referred to as Atami Baien in Shizuoka Prefecture is highly reputed for its nearly 500 glorious plum trees of 40 varieties harvested across approximately 4.4 hectares of land. Additionally, the resort city of Atami lies along the coast of Izu Peninsula facing the Pacific Ocean; hence, offering both spectacular mountain and seaside locations for enjoying the delicate blossoms.

Upon arriving at the spacious garden, one can feel the traces of history seeded since its opening in 1886. During the Meiji era, Yokohama businessman Sobe Mogi and other collaborators planted about 3,000 plum, pine, cherry, peach, cedar, willow, maple, and other trees on 2.5 hectares of the current land. Today, camphor, zelkova, and Japanese Sakaki or evergreen trees also abound. The park became an Imperial property until its transfer to the national government in the 1950s. Since then, it has undertaken continuous redevelopments over the years and has quickly attracted many visitors who are particularly eager to catch the early blooming season from mid-November to December.

One of the striking highlights of this picturesque garden is the group of Five Bridges: Zanka (gradual beauty), Geigetsu (welcoming the moon), Soubi (double eyebrows), Koufu (floating fragrance), and Chujo (standing cane). From the entrance, the first bridge Zanka leads to a shrine encircled by plums and redeemed poet Matsuo Basho’s haiku monument. From this point, one reaches the Geigetsu Bridge over the flowing brook. It is said that a perfect glimpse of the moon can be viewed from this bridge.

Moving ahead, two bridges, the Soubi, split the stream and stand side by side. Crossing another bridge Chujo, visitors often stop here to gaze at the grove of plums from behind, and read another haiku by poet Oto Takeda on a stone monument. Soon, one hits the eye-catching red Koufu Bridge, which shines brilliantly, especially in autumn, layered by almost 400 colourful maple trees around. Further ahead is the park’s prominent wooden Umezono bridge that connects the Sawada Masahiro Memorial Museum to the Japanese and Korean gardens.

The museum, in stark circular concrete structure, exhibits significant works of the Atami-born artist Sawada, featuring oil, ink, and ceramic paintings, woodwork, lithographs, and calligraphy. After the Japan-Korea Summit in 2000, the two country leaders proposed to incorporate a Korean garden within the premises as a mark of diplomatic friendship. It utilises traditional techniques of the Joseon Dynasty, comprised of a hall, main gate, and wall tiles all designed by a Korean architect.

Next to the Korean garden is the Nakayama Shinpei Memorial Museum, dedicated to the Taisho period composer. He was especially known for children’s songs. The fascinating Showa era two-storey wooden villa was the composer’s last resting place until his death in 1952. It houses his precious belongings, including the piano he used for composing, music sheets, and records.

Korin-tei is another building lined along the Nakayama Shinpei Memorial Museum, which is exclusively reserved for tea ceremonies and other special events. The exquisite plum trees around it are also breathtaking. Visitors can also rest at the foot bath just behind the Korean garden. Completed in 2006, it has become a relaxing niche for visitors after a long stroll around the grounds, to warm their feet particularly during the busy plum and maple festivals.

Surely unmissable is the Ume-mi no Taki waterfall, which consists of a narrow path behind it so you can stand by the flowing water up close and peek through the gorgeous plum trees. This cascade completes the essential elements of a Japanese landscape—trees, flora, water, and stone. Atami Plum Garden holds its plum festival from mid-January to early March, and maple festival from mid-November to early December yearly. If you wish to avoid the congestion, visiting the park beyond these periods provides an equally scenic opportunity to savour Atami’s refreshing floral treasure.