Who Knew There Was A Butterfly Season In Tokyo?

Went to check on whether the cosmos were blooming yet at Hama-Rikyu Teien garden last week and discovered that the lovely fields of gently nodding multicolored blooms I remembered were looking vastly overgrown and (honestly!) kind of ratty. I was about to stalk away muttering, “Disappointment, thy name is Hama-Rikyu” when the corner of my eye caught a fluttering.

And not just a fluttering, a whole heap of flutterings!

And they weren’t just boring old monarchs and mourning cloaks like I could see back home, they were exotic butterflies I’d never seen before.

The cosmos are in bloom right now, until late October, and here’s where to see huge fields of them in & around Tokyo. And if you’d like to visit Hama-Rikyu Teien garden the next time you’re in Tokyo, a map & info on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.

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Don’t miss The Last Tea Bowl Thief!

“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