If you think you have to travel all the way to Saitama prefecture to see the famously eyepopping fields of red spider lilies that only bloom for a few days a year, think again! Move over Kinchakuda, because I just discovered an incredible higanbana bloom that rivals that amazing display right in Tokyo!
These fields of knee-high goodness are planted in a park with a vast plum grove…
so skillfully laid out that although the 400,000 blooms at Kyodo-no-Mori Park…
aren’t as numerous as the five million winding along the forested riverbank at Kinchakuda, they make up for it with the lush density of the plantings and the way they’re carefully cultivated to reach peak bloom all at once.
Pools of green occasionally interrupt the swaths of crimson…
and the fields are planted in such a way that even if you’re sharing the paths with crowds of other snap-happy visitors…
they don’t obstruct your view of this magical landscape.
It really does feel like the gateway to an enchanted world!
And as a special bonus, the higanbana aren’t the only fun thing to see there. Check out all the other things that make Kyodo-no-Mori Park a treat for the whole family!
Here’s where in the park the higanbana fields are planted:
Open: Every day
Hours: 10:00 – 17:00
Admission: Adults ¥300; Children (through middle school) ¥150; Under 4, Free
When do the higanbana bloom?
They reach their peak for a week near the autumn solstice on September 21, but it varies a little each year. The white ones bloom earlier than the red ones. You can check the progress of the bloom by scrolling down the website homepage and clicking on the bloom progress report.
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
So lush and vivid, absolutely divine photos. How did you fight the urge to run and leap through the blooms?
Ahaha resisting running through it is the very reason this kind of crazy flower display can be seen in Japan, even though it’s in a public park. Nobody runs through it or wades in to take a selfie, so it stays looking beautiful for everyone to enjoy.