Shiofune Kannon Azalea Festival 塩船観音寺つつじまつり 🌺 🥾and Kasumi Hills Hiking 🌲 ⛰️

Welcome to Tokyo Fun Hikes and Day Trips.

Signing up early helps get the event noticed and attracts more people. Of course you can change your mind and cancel later if you need to.
早めに登録していただくと、このイベントが目に留まりやすくなり、参加者も増えます。もちろん大丈夫です — 後で気が変わってキャンセルしても問題ありません。

To join this event please see below and send me a message on LINE. Without this, you will not find out our meeting point. EVERYONE needs to do this EVERY TIME, including those who have participated with me previously.

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Shiofune Kannon-ji is a vast Buddhist temple located in Ome city, in the west of Tokyo. The 1,300 years old site is renowned for its myriads of multicolor azaleas (or rhododendrons) blooming in mass from mid-April to early May. Japanese people come each view the amazing Azalea Festival in the little valley dominated by an impressive bodhisattva Kannon statue.

After the festival, we will follow the hiking course through the Kasumi Hills (Kasumi Kyuryo) towards Iwakura Onsen.

YouTube video of the event

We will meet at Higashi-Ome station BEFORE 10.35am. Please kindly ensure you arrive punctually.
There is an Ome Line train departing Tachikawa at 9.56am, arriving at 10.26am.

◾️After you have applied to join this event, please contact Mark via the Line application quoting your FULL NAME and this message: [Azalea festival & hiking - 26th April] MARK's LINE ACCOUNT
If you would like to bring a guest, please ask me via Line.

◾️参加されるイベントの名前(フルネーム)と日付を付けてマークにLINEしてください。
例: [Azalea festival & hiking - 26th April] MARK's LINE ACCOUNT
定員の都合上、お連れ様がいる時は事前にLINEでご相談ください。

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OUR ROUTE:
We will commence by walking for approximately 30 minutes from Higashi-Ome station to Shiofune Kannon.

After enjoying the Azalea Festival we will take the hiking course near the statue at the top of the hill, towards Mt Atago and Iwakura Onsen.

The course is beginner-friendly, and is well-maintained.

At the summit of Mt Atago, there is a small shrine and also a few benches where we can hopefully rest for lunch. However, since will be a busy time, it is recommended you bring a small sheet or plastic bag on which you can sit.

Going down the hill we will cross a road and then reach a junction. We will take the path for Mt Nanakuni.

Afterwards we will return to the junction and take the other route towards Iwakuni Onsen bus stop.

Please remember to bring your lunch.

Expected walking distance 8-10km, 3-3.5 hours.

Additional fees (approximate):
Azalea festival admission ¥300
Return bus (Iwakura-onsen bus stop to Higashi-Ome station) ¥273, 20 minutes.

Event fee:
¥750 (discount fee) limited to the first 5 applicants (make sure you contact me on LINE immediately!) - payment is required via PayPay within 24 hours and is non-refundable. If you think you may need to cancel, then choose the option below ⬇️
¥1250 (regular prepaid fee) if you pay by 7pm on 25th April (PayPay, or in cash at an earlier event).
¥1500 in cash on the event day (26th April) - please bring the correct money (see the NOTE below).

If you don't have PayPay, please ask a friend or coworker to do the transaction for you (give them cash!).

Cancellation policy:

• Full refund given for ¥1250 payments if cancellation is notified BY LINE MESSAGE at least 36 hours before the event start time.
• Reservation and then no-showing without prepayment requires full payment of the event fee via PayPay within 24 hours. Further non-payment will result in removal from the group.

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After the event, you may submit a review/evaluation. Please kindly rate appropriately as a low evaluation has an impact on the group. Things you should clearly understand in advance:

1. I (Mark) am not a tour guide. For many events this will also be my first time, and events are mainly organised based on extensive internet research.
2. Nature cannot be guaranteed, so flower festivals may be impacted by the recent climate.
3. We aim to depart on time, however bus schedules might change. This is unavoidable.
4. We request participants arrive EARLY. In rare cases we might wait a few minutes if we do not need to take a bus.
5. The number of participants is not guaranteed. However we will not have large groups.
6. The event finish time might be earlier or later than advertised. The hiking time might be longer/shorter than anticipated. Return bus times are not guaranteed.

How to calculate your review appropriately:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars) = Everything was as described.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars) = The event was generally ok, but there were a few things that you weren't happy with (please provide further details).
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars) = The event was disappointing (please provide further details).
⭐️⭐️ (2 stars) = The event was poor (please provide further details).
⭐️ (1 star) = The event was terrible (please provide further details).