Japan is known for its cherry blossoms and calm gardens since they are the best places to relax. Japan experiences all four seasons distinctly, so you will be able to enjoy different flowers that change as the seasons do. This makes it a great experience no matter what time of the year you visit Japan. There are amazing gardens and parks everywhere in Japan, so your end destination doesn’t even matter since you will find beautiful gardens everywhere.
Here are the best flower gardens and parks in Japan that everyone should explore.
Anyone going to visit Hokkaido should add Farm Tomita to their itinerary since it has the most stunning summer flowers. The park showcases a huge collection of different flowers that looks absolutely gorgeous from mid-spring through fall. Once the snow begins to melt in winter, it leaves behind a huge park with spring flowers like violas, poppies, and tulips.
From early June to August, you will find a collection of summer flowers in vivid colors, such as dahlias and marigolds. The Lavender East side of the park is quite an iconic location that is recognized as one of the biggest lavender fields across Japan. You definitely shouldn’t miss out on this purple ocean of lavender flowers.
The Shikisai no Oka is in Biei-cho and is known as a scenic park, which you should definitely visit if you are going to Hokkaido. You will be welcomed with a spectacular array of beautiful flowers set against the backdrop of rolling green hills and mountains. The best season to visit the flowers is from late April to early October. It hosts around 30 types of seasonal flowers across 15 flower fields.
The park is truly huge, so it can be fun to explore fully. You can go for carts or buggies that make it easier to explore the park. The fields look like a carpet of flowing flowers in all sorts of colors that flow down the hillsides of the park. The winter season can be quite special too, since there are plenty of winter activities like riding snowmobiles.
The Himawari no Sato is a sunflower garden in Hokkaido on 23 hectares of land. It features 1.5 million sunflowers that make it one of the biggest sunflower gardens in the world. The stunning sight of beautiful yellow sunflowers in their full bloom from early till mid-August looks straight out of a Van Gogh painting. There is a sunflower maze that you can enjoy or try out the rental bicycles in the park too.
Yokohama-cho Park is built on 143 hectares, known for the largest fields of Nanohana blossoms. When the flowers are in their full bloom, it transforms the entire place into a sea of beautiful and happy yellow. The flowers begin to bloom in early to mid-May.
There is an annual festival called the Nanohana festival that you must check out with a flower maze. People come from all over Japan to experience the beauty of the flowers and enjoy the festival.
We couldn’t make a list of the best flower gardens in Japan without mentioning Showa Memorial Park. It is built in Tachikawa, around 30 minutes from Tokyo. It is known for the gorgeous red, yellow, and orange hues of the autumn leaves and the beautiful cherry blossoms too. This flower heaven is around 165 hectares big with amazing attractions like water features, sports facilities, and museums. The park truly comes alive from late spring to early summer with an array of vibrant colors. The grounds have amazing seasonal flowers as well, like sunflowers, cosmos, tulips, and azaleas, to name a few.
The Ashikaga Flower Park is located in the Tochigi Prefecture area, and is widely known for its amazing Weeping Wisteria flowers. They have a century-old Weeping Wisteria tree that has a huge canopy of purple flowers that looks stunning when in full bloom. There is also a Spring Flower festival during March that features thousands of tulips and stunning cherry blossoms. But if you must choose between the park’s stunning festivals, the Great Wisteria festival is far superior, where the walkways are blanketed in vivid wisteria. The purple wisteria are the most common and loveliest sight, but there are other colors represented as well.
It’s not just the dream-like purple cascade that you should go for; they also have amazing thematic illumination annually that people come from all over Japan to bask in. They have gorgeous mini-gardens that create a wonderful nighttime viewing experience with lights. The hills near the park also have large LED screens that run thematic animations to keep you entertained.
The Hitachi Seaside Park is built in Ibaraki Prefecture, and is the go-to place to visit if you like large fields of dainty-looking “baby blue-eyes” flowers. The vast blue skies and the delicate blue flowers make for a memorable visual. The baby blue-eyes, or nemophila flowers bloom during April across the vast green hills, while the waters of the Pacific Ocean shimmer nearby.
There is also an amusement park next to it where you can sit on the 100-meter tall Ferris wheel to take in the whole glory of the blue flowers, blue skies, and blue ocean all at once. The warmer months also bring other plants and flowers into focus, such as the vibrant crimson Kochia bushes, which are featured during the autumn months. You can also enjoy obstacle courses, golf, cycling, BBQ, and more during your visit to the park.
The Higashizawa Rose Park offers lush forests, rolling hills, calming aromas, and a rustic view, in addition to hundreds of varieties of roses that are sure to make anyone’s jaw drop. There are 700 rose varieties that come in all sorts of colors, making it a visually appealing spectacle. The best time to visit is in early summer when the roses are in full bloom. There are also autumn rose blooms that last till late September, making it a romantic location for couples to visit.
The Gunma Flower Park is one of the best flower gardens and parks in Japan, nestled near the southern side of Mt. Akagi. It has huge flower fields that spread across the entire landscape featuring all sorts of seasonal flowers like cactus, begonias, and orchids. There are 5 greenhouses that you explore too, stuffed with flowers in all colors of the rainbow. Within the flower park is a smaller Japanese-style garden offers relaxation as you take in the fresh air, amazing views, and gentle aroma of the flowers. There is also a kid’s area with an adventure playground and hedge maze.
The Bokka no Sato is in the Aichi Prefecture and has an amazing theme park, too. It offers activities and hands-on experiences. There is a petting zoo with cows, horses, sheep, and other small animals, and experiences like cow-milking and horse riding can offer memorable hours of delight. There is also a BBQ area where you can get Japanese specialties like Hida beef that is a famous Wagyu beef. The spring season brings seasonal flowers of colorful lavenders and tulips.
The Nabana no Sato is quite an impressive flower park on the Nagashima Resort near the Kuwana City in the Mie Prefecture area. It gets 15 million visitors annually, making it quite a popular tourist attraction. It has been divided into 4 areas, including the Jazz Dream Nagashima and Nagashima Spa Land. The amusement park offers amazing attractions and exciting rides along with around 300 shops.
There are stunning gardens and flower fields that you can enjoy during the springtime when you want to unwind. There is also a beautiful illumination event from October till March that features colorful LEDs displaying a spectacular scenery of flowers.
The Awaji Hanasajiki Park is a peaceful park on Awaji Island in the Seto Inland Sea. It offers impressive scenery that thousands of visitors come to bask in each year. The flowers are planted on a hillside that faces the shimmering Osaka Bay and Akashi Strait, resulting in a spectacular contrast between the brilliantly colored flowers and the ocean background. The fresh sea breeze and flower fields can be quite a relaxing experience. The flower field in early March is covered with rapeseed flowers that bloom with dainty yellow petals.
Huis Ten Bosch is one of the most famous theme parks in the country. This Western-style park features European buildings that are inspired by Dutch architecture in the 17th century. It has seasonal flowers that welcome visitors with their vibrant colors, especially the millions of gorgeous tulips - symbolic flowers of the Netherlands – that bloom in spring. The spectacular view features locations that are ideal photo spots, like the windmill next to the flower fields. The nighttime experience of the park is also quite unique, where thousands of shimmering lights illuminate the pretty flowers in bright colors.
The Ikoma Plateau is located in Miyazaki Prefecture, right at the foot of Kirishima Mountain. It has gorgeous landscapes accompanied by warm weather during springtime. There are many different colorful flowers blooming from spring to fall. The backdrop of the cone-shaped mountain standing tall behind the flowers is a memorable image that every visitor will love.
It features pretty poppy flowers that bloom during late April. The fall season also offers brilliant cosmo flowers that come in white, pink, and red, looking gorgeous spread on the plateau. In addition, there is a cozy café in the park where you can get a hot cup of coffee as you bask in the spectacular view.
The cosmos flowers featured in the Kurohime Kogen Highlands Cosmos Park are truly amazing to view when they are in full bloom. Millions of dainty pink cosmos flowers bloom across the green hills of the park from September to October. The park also has creeping phlox, hydrangea, and dahlias that look stunning throughout the year too. There is also a panorama lift that allows you to take in the full landscape around you from above.
Hamamatsu Flower Park is a lovely botanical garden that features amazing flowers and excellent recreational facilities. There are seasonal blooms that you can enjoy during a visit at any time of the year. Besides the fields of vivid flowers, there is a huge greenhouse in the park which has a stunning fountain in the center. The illumination events in the evening are also quite fun with bushes and trees covered in colorful lights. The cherry blossoms and autumn foliage are especially stunning times to visit Hamamatsu, where colorful flower beds are enhanced with dainty pink petals or bright orange leaves overhead.
In springtime, the sakura flowers and tulips are a sight to behold, combining the West and East in a perfect blend. During the month of November, the Hamamatsu Chrysanthemum Convention offers countless varieties of exquisite Chrysanthemum blossoms. Younger visitors will enjoy the toy tram that goes around the gardens, providing a fun and relaxing way for families to view the flowers. For visitors who have extra time to spare, the Hamamatsu Zoological Gardens are also right next door to enjoy.
Mifuneyama Rakuen Park is an hour away from Fukuoka City, and has scenes of visual splendor that can take your breath away. The gardens are located near Mount Mifune – a stunning backdrop that transforms the whole landscape into a hidden valley of flowers. The scene remains gorgeous throughout the year, with seasonal flowers that continually changes the visual appeal of this unpolished natural gem.
There are springtime azaleas that come in multiple colors, blooming in April. The ocean of crimson, white, and pink look absolutely gorgeous. In autumn, the park transforms into an orange sea, while the relaxing green of summer can be quite soothing. There are also illumination events at times throughout the year that memorize visitors at night.
Any of our list of the best flower gardens and parks in Japan you visit will surely be an experience like no other! We hope you enjoy your trip to Japan, basking in the colors of its gorgeous flower fields.
