Nantou’s “Hakone Hot Springs” in Full Bloom – Free Entry to Enjoy Cherry Blossoms in the Park

Text & Photos /Douglas Fang      Visit Date: 2016.3.6

With March arriving, cherry blossoms in many areas are gradually nearing their end. To catch the last chance to admire them, this weekend I visited several well-known cherry blossom spots in central Taiwan, such as Tai’an Police Station, Wanda Power Plant, and National Chi Nan University... Indeed, the blossoms at these spots were already starting to fade.

After leaving Wanda Power Plant that day, I followed the plum-blossom-lined Puli-Fengyuan Highway to Hakone Hot Springs Life House. The number of cherry blossom trees here is truly remarkable in central Taiwan, with the entire parking lot and the area around the hot spring resort covered densely with blossoms, most of which were over 90% in bloom.The operators of the hot spring resort were kind enough to allow the public to enter the park for free to enjoy the cherry blossoms, making it a quite worthwhile spot to visit.

Also, don’t miss the vast expanse of cherry blossom-covered woodland located at the 70-kilometer mark on the Puli-Fengyuan Highway. The entire hillside was blanketed in vibrant cherry blossoms, adding a splash of spring color, and from a distance, the cherry grove looked just like a waterfall cascading down from the mountaintop. Only by viewing it from afar can you truly appreciate the beauty of this “cherry blossom waterfall,” making it one of the most stunning encounters along the Puli-Fengyuan Highway.

That day, traveling back and forth along the Puli-Fengyuan Highway to Wanda Power Plant, I could feel the essence of spring everywhere, with blooming cherry blossoms spotted frequently along the road. For those heading toward Qingjing Farm or Aowanda via the Puli-Fengyuan Highway, it’s hard not to be drawn in by this cherry blossom haven at Hakone Hot Springs.

The entire Hakone Hot Springs area is actually quite large, with at least a hundred cherry blossom trees planted. These blossoms seemed largely unaffected by this year’s weather, as every tree was in full, unrestrained bloom!!! These might have been the most exuberantly blooming cherry blossoms I’ve seen this year, mainly clustered around the parking lot, with plenty more in the accommodation area and around the metal-roofed plaza in front of the lodging section.

A casual stroll would take about 15–20 minutes, but if you’re like me—taking your time to snap photos, frame shots, and soak in the joy of being surrounded by cherry blossoms—it’ll easily take an hour~~~ If I hadn’t had other plans that day, I might have stayed for over an hour and a half!! I took nearly 150 photos here just to capture the beauty before my eyes.

Most of the cherry blossoms here at Hakone Hot Springs are double-petal pale pink cherry blossoms, also known as yaezakura. According to my research, there might also be some mountain cherry trees here, but I was mostly taking wider shots that day and didn’t pay much attention to spotting them. Visitors might want to keep an eye out. By the time I visited, it was already noon, so the lighting wasn’t as ideal as the morning golden hour for cherry blossom photography, but I still managed to find good angles.

The left side of the pathway between the two parking lots had particularly lush cherry blossoms, making it a popular photo spot. Unfortunately, the right side had slightly sparser blooms, and visitors should watch out for cars occasionally pulling over to park here~~

The cherry blossoms in front of the lodging area were also incredibly dense, but a sign indicated that non-guests shouldn’t enter the residential zone, so I didn’t go in~~ Just imagine waking up here, stepping out your room door, and being greeted by such beauty—that would be an amazing feeling.

The cherry blossoms planted near the parking lot along the stone steps made for a great spot for group photos, with the varying heights of the steps and the overhead blossoms creating a beautiful composition.

In addition to magenta mountain cherry blossoms, there were also white-petaled ones, though I couldn’t quite identify the exact variety...

Before visiting, I had looked at photos taken by others, and using the car window reflection was also a nice technique~~ Since it was a weekend visit, there were quite a lot of cherry blossom enthusiasts at Hakone Hot Springs. Though the park is spacious, almost every spot had people taking photos, so later on, I mostly framed shots upward toward the sky or used other visitors as part of the composition, rather than capturing continuous rows of cherry trees from a distance~~~

The cherry blossoms at Puli’s Hakone Hot Springs were clearly well cared for by the management and remained unaffected by this year’s weather, allowing them to bloom so densely, vibrantly, and beautifully. Many people even brought food for picnics here. Let’s all do our part by taking our trash with us and avoiding damaging the cherry trees, so this beauty can be enjoyed year after year!!

2017 Nantou Puli Hakone Hot Springs Life House Flower Condition

Revisit Date: 2017.3.5

On my second visit in March 2017 to Hakone Hot Springs Life House on the Puli-Fengyuan Highway, the date was around the same period as the previous year, but the cherry blossom condition here showed a significant decline compared to last year. Compared to the lush blooms of the previous year, this year’s blossoms were only about 65% to 70% as abundant, with some trees near the campfire area having almost no blooms at all.

However, thanks to the large area and the high number of cherry blossom trees planted here, you can still capture the feeling of abundance by shooting from different angles. And since Hakone Hot Springs is completely free to enter—with no parking fees—it’s still highly recommended to visit on a weekend before mid-March if you can.

Hakone Hot Springs Life House
Address: No. 62, Section 1, Zhongshan Road, Puli Township, Nantou County
Phone: 049-2920899
Official Facebook Fan Page:https://goo.gl/dXOhZd

Douglas Fang
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