A day trip to the cool mountain village of Nagatoro for some traditional wooden boat rafting and to check out the incredible Shibazakura Festival.

Nagatoro is a small mountain village located in Chichibu. The Arakawa river which flows through the town is excellent for whitewater rafting, of the ordinary kind, but visitors can also experience a more traditional wooden boat style of rafting as well. The traditional rafting involves boarding a wooded boat controlled a driver with a long wooden pole. The boat then cruises, mostly peacefully, down the river, giving you ample opportunity to take in the incredible scenery.

The Shibazakura Festival is essentially a 16500 sq metres carpet of flowers! Predominantly pink and resembling the famous cherry blossoms, these flowers are an incredible sight, spread out over so much of the park and presented so perfectly in various shapes and images. Definitely one of the most photogenic festivals in Japan!! The festival also features the usual variety of food and drink stalls and other entertainment.