Great Balls O’ Flowery Fluff: Tokyo’s Best Hydrangea Gardens
If someone says “hydrangeas” and you think “boring white puffballs,” you haven’t seen the outrageous ones in Tokyo yet! Here are my favorite hydrangea garden extravaganzas, and they’ll be blooming ’til the end of June, just sayin’…
New for 2020!
MINAMIYAMA HYDRANGEA MOUNTAIN in Musashi-itsukaichi

As you can see, these are wild hydrangeas at their finest!

The trail winds up a gully lined with towering, flowering hydrangeas

And features many different varieties
Open: This hiking preserve is open every day, but if you want to hike amid the blooming hydrangeas, you should go sometime between mid-June and late July. These photos were taken at the beginning of July.
Hours: 8:00 – 20:00
Admission: ¥250
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HAKUSAN SHRINE in Hon-Komagome


Hours: Open 24 hours
Open: Every day of the year. The Ajisai Festival is from June 6 – 14 in 2015, but you can see the hydrangeas blooming through the whole month of June
Admission: Free
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HONDO-JI TEMPLE in Kitakogane


Hours: 8:00 – 17:00
Open: Every day
Admission: ¥500 during hydrangea season (June)
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ASUKAYAMA PARK/OJI STATION in Oji


Hours: Open 24 hours
Open: Every day of the year.
Admission: Free
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TAKAHATA FUDOSAN TEMPLE in Takahatafudo



Hours: Open 24 hours
Open: Every day of the year.
Admission: Free
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And of course, I have to mention the two famous hydrangea temples in nearby Kamakura…
HASEDERA TEMPLE in Kamakura


Hours: 8:00 – 17:00
Open: Every day
Admission: ¥500
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MEIGETSU-IN TEMPLE in Kitakamakura
Hours: 8:00 – 17:00
Open: Every day
Admission: ¥300
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The Last Tea Bowl Thief was chosen as an Editor’s Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense on Amazon!
“A wonderful blend of history and mystery.” —Laura Joh Rowland, author of The Iris Fan

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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
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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!
Beautiful! I have always loved these flowers. My grandmother had them growing along the front of her house. I can’t tell you how many times I heard, “Don’t pick the flowers!” But hydrangeas were bouquets on one-stem wonders. So many flowers and so many colors!
I always felt that way about them too! But I heard an interesting thing while I was standing in line to get into Hasedera. The guy in front of me told me that you were never supposed to give hydrangeas to your girlfriend in a bouquet. The reason: their colors change over time, and this suggests that your heart will also change! Who knew?
I would think that makes them more magical!
soo beautiful!