When and Where to go for the Spring Flowers in Japan

When most people think of spring in Japan, they think of the country’s famous sakura or cherry blossom flowers, which have long drawn millions of visitors from all over the world, best time and place for spring flowers in Japan. This is unsurprising given its beautiful attractiveness, which casts a delicate pink tinge over both urban and rural surroundings.

 

Sakura (Cherry Blossom)

Sakura cherry blossoms are a must-have addition to any list of Japanese flowers. This flowering tree has become so well-known in Japan that the news reports on the blossom forecast, and people from all over the country set aside time to enjoy hanami.

There are wonderful settings all throughout, but Shinjuku Gyoen and Yoyogi Park are two of the best. However, hanami is quite popular, so expect to be crowded.

 

Yoyogi Park: 

Yoyogi Park, near Shibuya, Harajuku, and Shinjuku, is one of Tokyo’s major national parks. The park is often referred to as the city’s oasis because of its size and accessibility. The pack hosts a variety of events throughout the year, and it’s one of the most popular places to see cherry blossoms in the spring and autumn foliage in the fall. Yoyogi Park has over 700 cherry trees, and visitors can enjoy cherry blossom viewing and picnicking during the season. It’s one of the most popular spots for Hanami (cherry blossom viewing parties), with many people arriving early in the morning to get a picnic space near/under the cherry trees.

 

Shinjuku Gyeon National Garden: 

Shinjuku Gyoen is a national garden in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. It’s one of Tokyo’s top hanami sites. The huge garden, which spans 58.3 hectares, is home to over 1,000 cherry trees of diverse types, including early and late blossoming cherry blossoms. Shinjuku Gyoen is the greatest site to see cherry blossoms in Tokyo if you miss the major cherry blossom season.

Shinjuku Gyoen is known for its tranquilly. Many people come here during cherry blossom season to relax, walk around the park, and have a picnic (alcoholic beverages are not permitted) while admiring the beautiful cherry blossoms.

 

Rurikarakusa (Creeping Phlox)

Rurikarakusa is a low-growing plant with lovely baby blue blooms, earning it the nickname “baby blue eyes.” It’s important to remember that this flower belongs to the nemophila genus; nevertheless, this particular variant is known as the “insignis blue.

The exquisite blooms in the Hitachi Seaside Park only grow to be less than an inch in diameter and roughly seven to eight inches tall, making the fact that they have created a spread of baby blue on the hillside all the more amazing. These fields include 5.3 million individual flowers and cover an area of around 8.6 acres (3.5 hectares).

 

Hitachi Seaside Park: 

Hitachi Seaside Park, in Ibaraki Prefecture, is known for its year-round flowering seasonal flowers. It’s especially popular in the spring, when a sea of nemophila flowers blankets the entire area.

You can see the merger of the hill covered in blue nemophila and the blue sky when the nemophila (“baby blue eyes”) are in full bloom, which is normally from mid-April to early May.

If you visit in the spring, you can see tulips, rapeseeds, and narcissus, among other flowers. The park is full of beautiful flowers all year round.

 

Momo (Peach)

Peach blossoms could be one of your top selections if you’re looking for spring flowers in Japan that appear almost like sakura trees (but are a lot pinker)! Peach flowers, which are often viewed as symbols of purity or femininity, are a little tougher to come by than the rest of the spring blooms, but there is one area where you can readily locate them.

 

Fuefuki in Yamanashi: 

If you’re seeking for spring flowers in Japan that look like sakura trees, peach blossoms could be one of your top choices (but are a lot more pink). Peach flowers, which are frequently associated with purity or femininity, are a little more difficult to come by than the other spring blooms, but there is one place where you can easily find them.

 

Ume (Plum Blossom)

The Japanese plum (, ume; sometimes known as Japanese apricot) is a fruit that originated in China and has played an important part in Japanese culture for generations. It was later superseded in popularity by the cherry tree.

Because plum flowers are among the first to open during the year, the plum is associated with the onset of spring. They bloom throughout February and March in most parts of Japan, including Tokyo. Plum festivals (ume matsuri) are held in public parks, shrines, and temples all around Japan to commemorate the occasion.

Kairakuen

(Mito Station, JR Joban Line)

Kairakuen in Mito, about 100 kilometres north of Tokyo, is regarded as one of Japan’s three finest landscape gardens, with over 3000 plum trees of 100 types. From March 1 to March 21, 2021, a plum festival will be held.

Kitano Tenmangu Shrine

(Short walk from Kitanohakubaicho Station)

Kitano Tenmangu, Kyoto’s most important Tenjin shrine, contains a garden with around 2000 plum trees. On February 25, a special tea ceremony (Baikasai) is held in the garden.

Osaka Castle Park

(Short walk from Osakajokoen Station)

The expansive plum grove at Osaka Castle, located between the inner and outer moats on the eastern end of Osaka Castle Park, has almost 1300 plum trees of over 100 types. The entire grove takes at least 20 minutes to walk through.

 

Tsutsuji (Azalea)

Azaleas, also known as tsutsuji, are among Japan’s most popular spring flowers. Azaleas were once used to pray for a plentiful harvest; however, the flower has taken on a new connotation in recent years, since it is now associated with patience and modesty.

 

Mifuneyama Rakuen Park in Takeo: 

Mifuneyama Rakuen Park is a vast national monument park that spans 150,000 square metres on the western foot of Mt. Minfune! Locals go to this spot in the spring to see the thousands of pink and purple azaleas that are framed by the boat-shaped mountain.

 

Narukawa Azalea Garden in Osaka: 

This lovely Japanese garden is buried within Mt. Ikoma and can only be accessed on foot – a worthwhile excursion to make while in Osaka since you’ll adore the vibrant colours of the azalea plants, which can reach heights of more than 5 feet!

 

Mt. Katsuragi near Kyoto: 

This mountain is easily accessible by bus or ropeway, and a 90-minute picturesque trek to the top will reward you with a panoramic view of the sea of pink and scarlet azaleas.

 

Fuji (Wisteria)

Wisteria is one of Japan’s most popular spring flowers, especially for people who want to take great photos! It’s a trailing vining plant with lovely blue to purple flowers cascading down from the branches. Because the vines can become rather heavy, they are frequently used to embellish archways and pergolas.

 

Kawachi Fujien Garden in Fukouka: 

This is a private botanical garden notable for its two Wisteria Tunnels, which are packed with various shades of wisteria colours and varieties — blue, pink, purple, and white — and are known across the world (as seen in the topmost photo of this post).

 

Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi: 

With its 94,000 sqm expanse filled with hundreds of wisteria trees, it’s easy to see why CNN called Ashikaga Flower Park one of the top 10 international dream destinations. The Great Wisteria Festival, which is regarded as a ‘National Heritage Night View’ location, is also held here due to its popularity, so don’t forget to stay in the park after dark.

 

Kaameido Tenjinja Shrine in Tokyo: 

If you can’t get away from Tokyo, the Kaameido Tenjinja Shrine is your best choice for seeing wisterias. Approximately 150 wisteria kinds are growing on over 15 trellises. When you combine the shrine’s beautiful ambience with its ambient moon bridges, you’ll be clicking shots nonstop!

 

Tennogawa Park in Aichi: 

Tennogawa Park is home to the Owari Tsushima Wisteria Festival, which takes place every year near Nagoya. The 275-meter wisteria trellises that stretch out across the canal, and their reflection on the water’s surface, make this a wonderfully photogenic spot!

 

Churippu (Tulips)

You don’t have to travel all the way to the Netherlands to see tulip fields; Japan has several beautiful fields to see while in Asia.

Tulip fields are typically associated with the Netherlands, but there are some spectacular tulip views in Japan as well. It’s a flower to take a date to see if you’re looking for a romantic flower.

 

Tonami Tulip Festival in Tonami: 

This 2-week fair, held on the grounds of Tonami Tulip Park, has to be the most popular tulip viewing event in Japan! Furthermore, Tonami is the country’s biggest producer of tulip bulbs, and the fair is organised to highlight this achievement by showcasing over 2 million tulips throughout endless fields and flowerbeds.

 

Showa Memorial Park in Tokyo: 

This is a vast park (koen) in Tokyo with various types of flowers, but the most stunning garden is the tulips area, which has over 200,000 tulips!

 

Sakura Furusato Hiroba: 

This is the best site to see tulips in the Tokyo area! If you visit during their Sakura Tulip Festa, you’ll be able to see over 600,000 tulip blooms in a variety of colours (along with a Dutch-style windmill!).

 

Kamiyubetsu Tulip Park in Hokkaido: 

If you’re planning a spring trip to northern Japan, don’t miss a stop in the Okhotsk region to see this park with over 1.2 million tulips!

 

Gosen Tulip Festival in Niigata: 

As a major tulip producer in Niigata Prefecture, Gosen hosts a tulip festival every year, showcasing around 1.5 million tulips in a variety of colours.

 

Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki: 

As the name suggests, this is a site that recreates a Dutch town and is actually a theme park named after one of the Dutch Royal family’s residences. With its windmill constructions, long canals, and overall architecture, you’ll feel transported to Europe the instant you step upon its grounds. And, of course, you’ll find a vibrant tulip field to appreciate here, as the name suggests!

 

Shibazakura (Moss Phlox)

Moss phlox is one of Japan’s most beautiful spring flowers! Because they are such small five-petaled blooms that grow close together, when they are planted in large numbers, the surroundings will appear to have formed a natural carpet.

 

Fuji Shibazakura Festival in Yamanashi: 

The shibazakura flower field here is one of the largest in the greater Tokyo area, with over a million shibazakura in various colours! You’ll adore how the flowers stretch out endlessly in lawns of blushing red, pink, creamy white, and a hint of purple, and there’s nothing blocking your view of Mt. Fuji in these carpeted fields (especially on a clear day!).

 

Hitsujiyama Park in Saitama: 

This park in Chichibu, which is closer to Tokyo, offers an option. This gorgeous park, while smaller than the former, nonetheless has over 400,000 shibazakura for you to enjoy!

 

Nanohana (Rapeseed)

Rapeseed or canola blossoms (different plants that belong to the same cabbage family and are sometimes confused for one another) are also one of Japan’s most attractive spring flowers due to their vibrant yellow tint.

Rapeseed blossom, a blossoming plant with a long history in Japan (it was listed as a food source over two thousand years ago), is best seen around March. By the end of March, it is usually in full bloom.

 

Hamarikyu Garden in Tokyo: 

This magnificent garden near Shimbashi Station in Odaiba features a carpet of rape blooms (over 300,000 stalks!).

 

Isumi Railway in Chiba: 

In Chiba Prefecture, take the Isumi Railway from Ohara Station to Kazusa-Nakano Station and enjoy the scenery as you travel through canola fields bordered by beautiful sakura trees for up to 15 kilometres.

 

Nokonoshima Park in Nishi: 

A 15-hectare natural park located on Nokonoshima Island’s northern coast. Every season features diverse blooms, but the canola flowers in the spring are thought to be the most well-known. After all, the brilliant yellow canolas against the bright blue sky and ocean make for a beautiful combination!

 

Yokohama in Kanagawa: 

Yokohama is home to Japan’s largest canola and rapeseed flower growing field! The flowers appear in May and last approximately a month. Come see a large rape blossom maze, a marathon, and other festivities during the 2-day Rape Blossom Festival, which is traditionally held on the 3rd Sunday of May.

 

Takikawa Rapeseed Field in Hokkaido: 

This field was named one of Hokkaido’s “Top 100 Inspirational Places,” which makes sense given the magnificent yellow carpet of rape flowers! Every year in the spring, they host the Takikawa Rape Flower Festival (Nanohana Matsuri), which attracts thousands of tourists!