Picture postcard photos taken at the Soga (Bessho) plum grove - a beautiful combination with Mt. Fuji
Soga Plum Grove is one of the three major plum groves in the Kanto region (the other two being Kairakuen and Ogose Plum Grove). Nakagawara Plum Grove, Hara Plum Grove, and Bessho Plum Grove are all collectively referred to as Soga Plum Grove, but this article will focus on Bessho Plum Grove, the central venue for the plum festival.
If you go by car, you used to be able to park on the roads within the plum grove, but in recent years parking has been prohibited outside the parking lot. The number of parking spaces has decreased compared to before, so it may be a good idea to walk from Shimo-Soga Station on the JR Gotemba Line.
The Soga Bessho Plum Festival overlaps with the Matsuda Cherry Blossom Festival at Matsudayama. Therefore, I often park my car in a paid parking lot near Matsuda Station early in the morning, take photos of the Kawazu cherry blossoms at Matsudayama, and then take the JR train to the Soga Bessho Plum Grove.
The next example was taken on a walk from the station to Soga Bessho Plum Grove.
2011/2/24 8:03 Photo taken Focal length: 136mm
When you enter Soga Bessho Plum Grove, the best photo you can take is of Mt. Fuji combined with the plums. To find the best photo spots, first get a map of Soga Plum Grove. They are available online and at the venue. The crossroads are named after the plum varieties, so you can easily find where you are.
First of all, the area around Shirakaga intersection is a great spot to see Mt. Fuji. You can enjoy finding the perfect composition for Mt. Fuji and the plum blossoms.
2023/2/22 10:20 Photo taken at focal length 100mm
2011/2/20 10:24 Photo taken at focal length 87mm
From the parking lot of Odawara Bokujo Ice Cream Factory, you should be able to take a shot of the weeping plum blossoms and Mt. Fuji together, so be sure to stop by and take a look.
2011/2/22 9:07 Photo taken at focal length 52mm
If you go north about 150m on Prefectural Route 72 (Matsuda-Kozu Line) in front of the Odawara Ranch Ice Cream Factory, you can also see the view over the weeping plum trees.
Next, let's head to a spot where you can get a panoramic view of Soga Bessho Plum Grove. According to the Soga Plum Grove guide map, it's about a 20-minute walk to the observation deck, but in fact you can get a good view of Soga Bessho Plum Grove from a spot shorter than that. On Google Maps, this spot is called "Plum Grove and Mt. Fuji." As the name suggests, this may be the best position to take photos of Soga Bessho Plum Grove and Mt. Fuji. If you climb up to the observation deck, you can get a panoramic view of Sagami Bay, Ashigara Plain, and the Hakone mountain range, rather than just Soga Bessho Plum Grove. A horizontal composition will give you a sense of the openness of the view, while a vertical composition will give you a sense of the depth of the plum grove.
2018/3/3 10:23 Photo taken Focal length: 34mm
2011/2/20 11:03 Photo taken at 38mm focal length with cropping
Every year, many Japanese white-eyes gather around the plum trees in the vicinity of "Plum Grove and Mt. Fuji." It would be fun to prepare a telephoto lens and take pictures of "Japanese white-eyes on plum trees" rather than "Japanese bush warblers on plum trees."
Since this article encourages postcard-like photography, I have only shown examples of photos with Mt. Fuji, but with the number of weeping plum trees increasing, you can also take photos like this.
2011/3/3 11:24 Photo taken Focal length: 136mm
Mount Fuji is often covered by clouds as the sun rises and the temperature rises, so we recommend taking photos with Mount Fuji early on.
Once the plum blossoms bloom, the spring flowers will begin to bloom one after another. This will mean the start of busy days for flower photographers chasing after flowers.
Photo and text by Pure