From Matsumoto to Kobayama Park

I was googling and saw that Kobayama park would be a nice spot for cherry blossom.
However, I cant find any information of traveling between Matsumoto to Kobayama park.
Is there a bus to go there?

Kobayama park is an awesome spot for seeing cherry blossoms! But the trees have not yet begun to bloom. It'll be a little while still.

Kobayama park is in Matsumoto. From the station you can take a bus that heads toward the Nami-yanagi area. There's a bus stop near the old "Nishi-gen" grocery store (now called "Lamu") and near the Sweet Bakery branch store (Sweet is a great place to stop for coffee and doughnuts!) Anyway, that's where you should get off the bus. And from there you can walk to Koboyama in about 5 minutes. If you don't have a map, just ask for directions at Sweet Bakery.

Just ask at the Alpico Bus counter for a bus that goes to Koboyama. The fare is probably roughly 320 yen/person.

Re-post something here just before you visit Matsumoto, and if I see your post I'll give you an update on the blossoms since I drive past that area regularly.

SWEET location in Nami-yanagi, near Koboyama:
http://sweet-bakery.com/namiyanagi/

thanks!!
I am planning to visit Koboyama park next saturday. Not sure if I get to see the bloom.

Next Saturday, eh? I'll try to remember to post an update here on Friday.

Also, definitely go to the castle at night for the illuminated cherry blossoms. The illumination effect is stunning with the castle, moat, and dark sky as backdrops.

Enjoy your visit! Matsumoto has lots of great things to see, and there are rent-free bicycles you can use to get around.

If you arrive by train, stop in the visitors center on the 2nd floor of the train station (directly across from the exit gate where you turn in your train ticket) and pick up a map. Otherwise, you can get info at the other visitors center several blocks in front of the castle.

Update: In Matsumoto, some cherry trees are just beginning to bloom. The castle sakura festival, with evening illumination, will begin this Wednesday, April 4th, and it'll run for 8 days. So when you're in town, the trees at the castle should be at peak blossom!

I'll check on Koboyama.

Thanks Sakura san!!! Really appreciate your help. Look forward to it! Just wondering if the weather report in Japan is forecasting Matsumoto to rain on Saturday? From the website i checked, slight rain is expected.
I was thinking if I should bring it forward a few days? Japan guide is forecasting Matsumoto to have peak view startinf thursday.

Yeah, I noticed the rain prediction, too. But with a week-long forecast, you never can tell. Sure, if you can move things up a bit, a day or two would certainly work, especially for the cherry trees at city altitude.

Koboyama is higher so it probably won't be in bloom that early.

I checked on Koboyama today. It's starting to look a bit pink. I'd guess that a couple more days of nice sunshiny weather like today and it'll be gorgeous!

I see. I will check back on this thread as the day gets closer.. Hopefully the clouds would go away!

May I ask about the bus stop between Lamu and sweet?
I was googling it, I cant find a pole or anything that resembles a bus stop.
Is the bus stop after the entrance of Lamu car park?

http://www.alpico.co.jp/access/map/city_matsumoto_04.html

The above link is for a bus map (in Japanese). It's the bus route on the right, #23, and the stop is the 4th from the end, called "Koboyama Iriguchi" (Koboyama Entrance), or in Japanese, 弘法山入口.

Just sit close to the front and say to the bus driver "Koboyama."

If you happen to miss the stop -- unlikely -- the bus will loop around and come back.

Went down to Koboyama this afternoon and was greeted with a great view. It was so lovely that i think i took over 50 pictures.
The bus to Koboyama was infrequent. The earliest I could get was 14.05 at Aplico bus station. I decided to take the walk from Minami Matsumoto as it was much sensible in terms of time.
Train from Matsumoto to Minami Matsumoto was less than 5 mins. The walk from Minami Matsumoto was 20-30 minutes. As the weather was really nice, it took about 20 minutes for me.
Took the really steep slope up the hill. Almost fell off a number of times as it was really steep. At the top, there were people having a picnic and enjoying the flower blizzard.
It looks like the flowers will not last beyond this weekend. Many have already fallen though most are still intact. With the strong wind going through the night and tomorrow, likely tomorrow will be the last to get the best view as posted by the writer in Japan guide report.

Glad you enjoyed Koboyama.

Sorry about not checking the bus time schedule for you. I'm glad to hear that you figured out a way to get to the hill.

I hope you enjoy your stay in Matsumoto.