Bookings for Simakusi’s 2027 cherry blossom season open Oct. 1

Visitors hoping to see the 2027 cherry blossoms in Simakusi can begin preparing for reservations. The tribe in Jianshi Township, Hsinchu County, will open telephone bookings at 9 a.m. on Oct. 1.

The blossom season will run from Feb. 13 through March 10, covering 26 days. Rooms will cost the designated seasonal rate regardless of whether guests arrive on weekdays or holidays. Reservations for ordinary weekend stays from January through March, outside the blossom season, will not open until Nov. 9 because tribal staff will be taking annual leave.

Simakusi accepts accommodation bookings only by telephone, at 03-584-7688 or 03-584-7687. Callers must press 9 to reach the reservations team. The tribe does not accept bookings by fax, in person or through other channels.

During the blossom season, Hsinchu County’s Transportation Department is expected to impose a traffic quota on the road from the Taigang junction at kilometer 39 of Route Zhu 60 to the tribal area. Entry will be limited each day to 50 cars and 100 motorcycles carrying permits.

Simakusi has at least 12 cherry varieties, including native Taiwanese single-petal trees and Japanese single- and double-petal varieties. The Japanese single-petal Showa cherry is the most common and has the longest blooming period among the varieties there. Cherry cultivation began in 2010, when grafted Showa cherries were planted around the entrance gate, the Canaan area, the small cherry grove and a garden along the giant-tree trail.

The blossoms drew a major surge of visitors in 2020, when traffic on the access road became severely congested. During one two-day weekend, more than 4,000 people arrived on average each day. To protect the visitor experience, the tribe proposed the traffic quota to the county government the following year, and the system has remained in place since then.