Metsa, comprising Metsa Village and Moomin Valley Park, is a Moomin theme park in rural Saitama. However, it can be reached from Tokyo in just over an hour by either public transport or by car. The Umbrella Sky Project is at the main entrance to the theme park.
The Umbrella Sky Project at Metsa is called "Forest, Lake and Umbrella". At the Entrance Road, the umbrellas are backdropped by a lush forest lined with stunning purple geraniums, but you can't actually see the lake until after you have passed the umbrella display. The display is made up of 1000 umbrellas in the varying shades of the rainbow. They cast beautiful colored shadows onto the footpath beneath. The footpath itself is painted in vibrant shades. Together they forge a breathtaking scene.
There is also a smaller display of umbrellas in the Metsa Hall, a craft and workshop area with a view of Miyazawa lake. In 2019, the umbrellas in Metsa Hall are different from those at Entrance Road. They are umbrellas of different shapes and with varying patterns and motifs on them. During the event period in 2019, you could purchase a special limited edition rainbow cheesecake at Lagom, a Smørrebrød restaurant in the market hall. In 2020, information for the crafts and limited food is not yet available, but they are adding a new section of umbrella sky down by the lake.
In 2020 the umbrella sky event is on twice as long as last year. They are currently planning to start on May 15th, but there maybe changes due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The entrance road display will be available to July 26th and the lake side umbrella sky will run until August 30th. The event is free and entrance into Metsa village is free. There is a cover charge to enter Moomin Valley Park. Parking is charged on weekends.
Getting there
By car: Metsa is about a ten minute drive from the Sayama / Hidaka Interchange of the Ken-o expressway. Parking was previously charged and required booking, but the parking is now free on weekdays and booking is no longer required.
By public transport: You can get a bus bound for Metsa from Seibu Ikebukuro's Hanno Station North Exit bus stop 1. There is also a bus from Higashi Hanno Station, which is on the JR Hachiko Line.
Lynda Hogan @lynda.hogan
Lynda has been in Japan for 20 years and blogging about Saitama on her personal blog insaitama.com for 14 of them. Despite its central location, just North of Tokyo, Saitama is still quite unknown to the international tourist, but frequented by domestic travelers. It is a great place to experien...
