A sea of red spider lilies as far as the eye can see…in TOKYO?

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 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.

that really does feel like the gateway to another world.

Here’s where in the park the higanbana fields are planted:

Kyodo-no-Mori Park

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.

MAP

It’s the year 1784 and the shōgun rules with an iron fist . . . except within the walled pleasure quarter of Yoshiwara. Inside the Great Gate, samurai law does not apply, and it’s women who pull the strings

The Samurai’s Octopus…is a truly remarkable book, one that surprised and charmed me at every turn of the page. It’s one of the most memorable books I’ve read in a long time. You’re in for a treat.”
James Ziskin, Anthony, Barry, and Macavity Award-winning author of the Ellie Stone mysteries

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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

Published by Jonelle Patrick

Author of The Last Tea Bowl Thief

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