Posted May 14, 2014 by Jonelle Patrick3 Comments Beyond Tokyo

Yes, This Is One Wisteria Plant!

In case you need proof that “the harder a garden is to get to, the more spectacular it is,” look no further than Ashikaga Flower Park. Two solid hours from Tokyo by car (or two and a half hours hopping on and off four different trains), I didn’t believe any flowers could be worth the trip.

But as you can see, I was oh so wrong!

Not only are they huge, they’re lit up at night

Here's the entire plant at night, reflected in a nearby pond! — And the whole place is designed with reflecting ponds, so you can get pix like THIS

Size matters: these wisteria flowers are over a meter long! — These wisteria flowers are over a meter long!

Up close, they're beautiful too. — Up close, they’re beautiful too.

Wisteria, wisteria, everywhere you look!

Getting to Ashikaga Flower Park without a car takes about 2.5 hours by train. To get there, plug your nearest station into the Train Finder or download a free Japan Travel mobile app to your phone (I use Navitime Japan Travel) with Ashikaga Flower Park Station as the destination.

Open: Every day, 9:00-21:00 from mid-April to the end of May

Admission: ¥1700 for adults

Map

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“I don’t know when I’ve been more caught up in a story. A masterful achievement.” —Terry Shames, award-winning author of An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock

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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly newsletter Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had

Jonelle Patrick View All

Writing mystery books set in Tokyo is mostly what I do, but I also blog about the odd stuff I see every day in Japan. I'm a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Tokyo, and a member of the International Thriller Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. When I'm not in Tokyo, I live in San Francisco. I also host a travel site called The Tokyo Guide I Wish I'd Had, so if you're headed to Japan and want to check out the places I take my friends when they're in town, take a look!

3 thoughts on “Yes, This Is One Wisteria Plant!” ›

Beautiful!

Wow these are beautiful! I love a good wisteria. Ill add this to my must do for next time I go

Jonelle Patrick says:

May 29, 2014 at 1:33 am

It was pretty boggling. It actually peaked during Golden Week, I think, (the week before we went), but of course that coincided with the most massive crowds of the year, so we waited until after everybody had gone back to work. If you really want to go, here’s the Ashikaga Flower Park website’s English section! http://www.ashikaga.co.jp/en/index.html

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