25 Must-See Japanese Flower Gardens (2024 Edition)

Farm Tomita (Hokkaido)

Founded in 1903 in the middle of Hokkaido, Farm Tomita is Japan’s most famous lavender farm. It’s grown over the decades into 14 diverse Japanese flower gardens and forests, best viewed from early to mid-July when the lavender is at its most beautiful. Highlights include the Sakiwai Field, which grows four types of differently-shaded lavender; the Traditional Lavender Field, and the Greenhouse, where you can see lavender all year.

Farm Tomita also has plenty of other flowers too, like colorful poppies in the Spring Field, ornamental shrubs, fruit plants, and maple trees in Mother’s Garden, and the photogenic flower stripes on the Hanabito Field. A limited-service train runs on the JR Furano Line during summer to Lavender Farm Station next to Farm Tomita, making it accessible even for those without cars.

Recommended Accommodation Near Farm Tomita: Hotel Hanafuji Inn

Shikisai Hill (Hokkaido)

Shikisai Hill is one of Hokkaido’s most iconic Japanese flower gardens. Its colorful flower stripes are spread over 15 hectares across the rolling hills of Biei, offering different attractions depending on the time of year.

During the Green Season (late April to late October), Shikisai Hill delights visitors with buggy, cart, and tractor bus rides through mesmerizing fields of several dozen varieties of flowers and plants, including tulips, pansies, bellflowers, lavender, cosmos, and many more. The Winter Season (early December to early April) then sees it become a mecca for snow-rafting, snowmobiling, and other fun family winter activities.

We also recommend joining this Shikisai Hill tour from Sapporo, which will take you to the Shirogane Blue Pond, too!

Himawari no Sato (Hokkaido)

Himawari no Sato is home to two million sunflowers of four different varieties spread across the placid countryside of central-west Hokkaido. This Japanese flower garden is at its best during the Sunflower Festival from mid-July to mid-August, and is accessible 24 hours with free entrance and parking.

In a 2022 ranking, Himawari no Sato was voted the best sunflower field in Japan, making it a must-see for sunflower-lovers! Tractor bus rides, sunflower mazes, a golf course, and an observatory are also available, along with events, fireworks, food stalls, and more.

Tip: If you’re traveling around Hokkaido, the JR Hokkaido Rail Pass might save you some money and time!

Yokohama Nanohana (Aomori Prefecture)

Countless yellow “nanohana” rape blossoms light up the quiet town of Yokohama in rural Aomori Prefecture throughout May. Covering 128 hectares, this Japanese flower garden is one of the biggest nanohana fields in all of Japan.

On a weekend in mid-May, the town celebrates the bloom with the Nanohana Festival in the middle of the fields. Scores of visitors come to admire the spellbinding vistas and sample local foods like cream puffs filled with nanohana honey custard.

Misato Lavender Garden (Akita Prefecture)

The sight of 20,000 lavender plants blooming on a 2-hectare field is a sign of early summer in Misato, Akita Prefecture. Here, traditional purple lavender contrasts spectacularly with the town’s original white lavender variety, called the Misato Sekka.

The Lavender Festival is held from mid-June to early July, opening the fields to the public to enjoy the scenery while shopping for lavender products, sampling unique local foods like lavender ice cream and lavender cider, and even joining lavender picking sessions. A flea market is also held during the festival.

Michinoku Hydrangea Garden (Iwate Prefecture)

Michinoku Hydrangea Garden is one of the largest hydrangea gardens in Japan, located amidst a vast cedar forest in the deep countryside outskirts of Ichinoseki. This tranquil bastion of nature is home to 40,000 hydrangeas of 400 varieties, including many species native to Japan, which guests can enjoy on one of three scenic walking trails.

The Michinoku Hydrangea Festival is held when the flowers bloom from late June to late July. Many come to take photos of the garden’s famous petal-covered Hydrangea Pond, which opens during a set period in July.

Mt. Tokusenjo (Miyagi Prefecture)

Often heralded as the best azalea forest in Japan, Mt. Tokusenjo in southern Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, is a 711-meter-tall nature retreat home to over half a million azalea bushes covering 50 hectares. From mid to late May, the flowers light up the mountain in magenta and red, contrasting beautifully with the greenery and the Pacific Ocean in the background.

Echigo Hillside Park (Niigata Prefecture)

Echigo Hillside Park is a Japanese flower garden spanning 400 hectares on the outskirts of Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture. Home to countless beautiful flora, it’s especially proud of its 83 varieties of tulips, all 160,000 of which are honored at the annual Tulip Festival held late April to early May.

Another must-see at Echigo Hillside Park is the Fragrant Rose Garden, where visitors can enjoy 2,400 bushes of 800 species of roses divided by fragrance into seven areas. This Japanese flower garden is the perfect place to slow down, relax, and take the time to smell the roses (figuratively and literally). In winter, Echigo Hillside Park transforms into Snow World for families to partake in winter sports.

Recommended Accommodation Near Echigo Hillside Park: Nagaoka Grand Hotel

Hitachi Seaside Park (Ibaraki Prefecture)

Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Ibaraki Prefecture’s Hitachi Seaside Park is one of the most well-known Japanese flower fields. Each year, Instagram is swamped by photos of its one-million daffodils from late March to mid-April, which are of a special species that thrive in the local sandy soil.

This is followed by five million blue nemophilaーusually an accessory in Japanese flower gardensーwhich makes the park feel like a big open sky between mid-April and early May. Also, don't miss the fluffy kochia (summer cypress) that turn from a vibrant green in summer to a deep scarlet in October.

You can also join a tour of Hitachi Seaside Park combined with the equally spectacular Ashikaga Flower Park!

Ashikaga Flower Park (Tochigi Prefecture)

The Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi Prefecture is another of Japan's premier flower gardens. No matter when you visit, its 100,000 m² grounds burst with beauty, such as wintersweet and winter plum blossoms from early January to late February, tulips, cherry blossoms, and rhododendron in spring, roses, irises, hydrangea, and water lilies over summer, and bush sage in autumn.

However, the crowning jewel of this Japanese flower garden is wisteria, which blooms over mid-April to mid-May. You’ll be able to envelop yourself in an 80-meter-long white wisteria tunnel, a 160-year-old purple wisteria laid out on a 1,000 m² trellis, cherry blossom-colored wisteria, multi-petaled wisteria, the yellow laburnum, and plenty more.

There are plenty more incredible Japanese wisteria gardens to see throughout the country, too! Check out our picks for the 16 best Japanese wisteria gardens.

Hitsujiyama Park (Saitama Prefecture)

Hitsujiyama Park sits at the foot of Mt. Buko, the symbol of Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, and is best known for its Pink Moss Hill where moss phlox carpets the land in a mesmerizing tapestry of pink, purple, and white.

At 17,600 m² in size, Pink Moss Hill is the largest moss phlox field in the entire Kanto region, boasting 400,000 plants of 10 varieties that bloom from mid-April to early May. Hitsujiyama Park also has a large playground, small sheep farm, and other attractions, making it a fun family destination.

You can reach Hitsujiyama Park and explore other Chichibu attractions with the SEIBU 1 Day Pass! See our recommended Chichibu itinerary here.

Showa Memorial Park (Tokyo)

At 165.3 hectares, Tokyo’s Showa Memorial Park is three times larger than Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. A sanctuary for 800 species of flowers, plants, and trees, Showa Memorial Park’s flora includes over 300,000 nanohana in late March, 1,500 cherry blossoms from late March to mid-April, 250,000 tulips in early to mid-April, and almost 2 million nemophila from late April to mid-May.

Showa Memorial Park also presents a plethora of autumn wonders, such as red spider lilies and colorful cosmos, along with ginkgo foliage that forms a golden carpet from late October to late November, plus plum blossoms as early as mid-January.

Meigetsuin Temple (Kanagawa Prefecture)

Once Japan’s ancient capital and the birthplace of its samurai government, Kamakura is a hub of historical temples, shrines, and other buildings. One of these is Meigetsuin Temple, whose roots run back to the 12th century, and is best known today for its Japanese hydrangea garden.

This cozy Kamakura landmark came to be nicknamed the “Hydrangea Temple” for its parade of over 2,500 hydrangea bushes engulfing the grounds all throughout June. The temple’s hydrangea variety is native to Japan and boasts a distinctive color called “Meigetsuin blue” born from the unique qualities of the local soil.

Hamamatsu Flower Park (Shizuoka Prefecture)

Hamamatsu Flower Park is a botanical garden located on the shore of Lake Hamana in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. Filling its 300,000 m² grounds are 3,000 species of plants delighting visitors all throughout the year. From March, it becomes one of Hamamatsu’s most popular cherry blossom-viewing spots, boasting 1,700 cherry trees of 160 varieties that pop out against the clear blue springtime sky before being illuminated majestically after sunset.

Spring is also the time for tulips and wisteria at this Japanese flower garden, while summer is all about roses, hydrangeas, and irises, fall sees cosmos and autumn roses, and winter has Christmas trees and whimsical illuminations. A fun way to see everything is aboard the adorable Flower Train that circles the park in just 15 minutes. And even if the weather is poor, the indoor greenhouse showcases diverse and colorful tropical plants, desert succulents, and plenty more.

Recommended Accommodation Near Hamamatsu Flower Park: Sansuikan Kinryu

Atami Plum Garden (Shizuoka Prefecture)

Atami Plum Garden is a 4.4-hectare park spread over the hilly outskirts of Atami. Its history dates back more than 120 years, and it contains 469 plum trees of 60 varieties as well as maples, pine trees, daffodils, and cherry trees.

Blooming from mid-November, Atami Plum Garden is said to be Japan’s earliest plum garden. Middle and late-blooming varieties follow, guaranteeing a long bloom span stretching from December to March. To celebrate, the garden hosts its annual Plum Festival during the peak bloom of January to March.

Kazahaya no Sato (Mie Prefecture)

Kazahaya no Sato, located in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, was the first “welfare garden” in Japan, which supports disabled people through gardening work. This community has built up an incredible Japanese flower garden of 555 plum trees, 77,700 hydrangeas, and 1,800 Japanese wisteria, which are all celebrated at their respective festivals throughout the year.

Many come for the wisterias alone, which are spread out across 10 locations each with a unique design. Kazahaya no Sato also has a spacious dog park, golf club, and a hot spring footbath.

Yume Cosmos Garden (Kyoto Prefecture)

During its October bloom, Yume Cosmos Garden in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture is enveloped by 8 million colorful cosmos, making it one of the largest cosmos gardens in the Kansai region. This rural Japanese flower garden grows 20 varieties of cosmos, forming a tapestry of dainty flowers colored white, pink, purple, red, yellow, and more. Yume Cosmos Garden also holds various events throughout the season, like a scarecrow contest and live music.

Anaoji Temple Spider Lily Field (Kyoto Prefecture)

Just a 20-minute walk from Yume Cosmos Garden, the ancient Anaoji Temple is known for its statue of a reclining Buddha and its gorgeous Japanese flower garden. The pretty rural surroundings have also become popular for the spider lilies that grow along the footpaths and between the rice fields from mid to late September. These otherworldly red flowers are actually toxic (though they serve as ingredients in traditional Asian medicine) but their beauty is unquestionable.

Mt. Shiude (Kagawa Prefecture)

Mt. Shiude is a 352-meter mountain on the Shonai Peninsula in Mitoyo, Kagawa Prefecture. Voted one of the “52 Places to Visit in 2019” by The New York Times, Mt. Shiude is a popular cherry blossom viewing spot with more than 1,000 cherry trees backed by the tranquil and island-stunned Seto Inland Sea.

The cherry blossoms on Mt. Shiude generally bloom between March to early April. The site has become so popular that a reservation system has been put in place for cars to combat overtourism, while those hiking may be subject to entry limitations.

Recommended Accommodation Near Mt. Shiude: Private Chill Base

Kasayama Camellia Groves (Yamaguchi Prefecture)

The Kasayama Camellia Groves grow on a peninsula jutting into the sea on the outskirts of Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The forest flourishes with 25,000 camellias that peak from February to March, coinciding with the Hagi Camellia Festival.

The groves have been repeatedly logged and regrown, resulting in a patchwork of 60 camellia varieties that differ in shape, color, and blooming time. There is a walking trail through the forest, often flecked by fallen flowers, as well as a 13-meter-tall observation platform that grants panoramic views of the camellias and the Sea of Japan.

Yoshika and Shiroyama Iris Garden (Yamaguchi Prefecture)

Located in Iwakuni in eastern Yamaguchi Prefecture, the dual Japanese flower gardens of Yoshika and Shiroyama are an essential visit for fans of irises. The gardens are part of the historical Kikko Park, which was built from the residence of the local ruling Kikkawa clan, and delight guests with over 100,000 irises of 140 varieties that are in full bloom from early to mid-June. Shiroyama Garden also has a wooden path running through an iris-filled pond, promising whimsical pictures.

Kawachi Fujien Wisteria Garden (Fukuoka Prefecture)

Kitakyushu’s Kawachi Wisteria Garden sprang to global fame after its inclusion in CNN’s “Japan’s 36 most beautiful places.” Its many varieties of wisteria bloom from late April to mid-May, forming fairytale-like wisteria tunnels layered with shades of purple, pink, and white petals. A reservation system is in place, so be sure to book your tickets online before visiting or join this Kawachi Wisteria Garden tour!

Recommended Accommodation Near Kawachi Fujien Wisteria Garden: Chigusa Hotel

Huis Ten Bosch (Nagasaki Prefecture)

Huis Ten Bosch is an expansive theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, modeled after a Dutch village. Along with charming European-style architecture, Huis Ten Bosch boasts an amusement park, accommodation, restaurants, and stunning Japanese flower gardens.

A kaleidoscope of tulips cover the park between late February and early April. Backed by quaint windmills, it’ll feel like you’ve been transported to a storybook world fit for a postcard. Huis Ten Bosch even has its own unique species of tulip, with frilly, ruffled petals. Late May and June bring puffy hydrangeas to Huis Ten Bosch’s canals and paths, made even better by after-dark light-ups and more.

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Kuju Flower Park (Oita Prefecture)

Kuju Flower Park is a 220,000 m² Japanese flower park at the base of the Kuju Mountains in Oita Prefecture. It exhibits more than 5 million plants and flowers of over 500 varieties throughout the year, divided into sections like the Flower Field with sweeping fields of tulips, moss phlox, nemophila, and sunflowers; the Rose Garden, which has 3,500 roses of 350 varieties from late May to mid-October; and the Greenhouse, where it’s always summer. Those who visit between August and September can also pick fresh blueberries!

Ikoma Plateau (Miyazaki Prefecture)

The Ikoma Plateau is a highland with a 540-meter altitude facing the Kirishima Mountains and the Kyushu Mountain Range. It’s filled with magnificent flowers for most of the year, excluding winter, like springtime nemophila, poppies, and snapdragon, summertime hydrangeas, crape myrtle, and hibiscus, and a variety of cosmos during autumn.

Stop and Smell the Roses (and More) at Japan’s Best Flower Gardens

When putting together a Japan travel itinerary, be sure to include Japanese flower gardens and parks for a touch of nature between the big cities. Located in many of the most picturesque parts of the country, these floral facilities allow you to stroll and relax amidst the beauty of Japan at its purest, all while granting access to local culture and food. Whether you’re an experienced shutterbug or a traveler seeking tranquility, we hope that our Japanese flower garden guide has helped you choose your next Japan travel destination.