Hanachōzu at the Gyōda Hachiman Shrine In Japan, too many flowers is just enough, especially when it comes to hanachōzu! The latest fashion for excess splendor started at shrines that fill their purifying mizu-chōzuya (“hand washing water place”) with a mix of spring blooms and colorful floating balls… Hanachōzu at Kawagoe Hachimangu …but it grewContinueContinue reading “Floating flowers are taking over Japan this spring”
Tag Archives: flower season Japan
Five Japanese flower seasons that will make you happy you missed the cherry blossoms
If you have to postpone your Japan trip and miss the cherry blossoms this spring, don’t despair! There are other flower seasons you can catch after the current contagion dies down that deliver just as much flowers-as-far-as-the-eye-can-see amazement, without the crowds. If eye-popping flowers are what you’re longing to see, here are my five favorites,ContinueContinue reading “Five Japanese flower seasons that will make you happy you missed the cherry blossoms”
Killer Chrysanthemums 2019
It’s that time of year again, when the chrysanthemum wranglers of Tokyo liberate their flower-of-choice from ragtag funeral bouquets and show the world they can hold their own with far more glamorous blooms! Here’s what’s new for 2019: • YUSHIMA TENJIN SHRINE It’s hard to argue that this isn’t the must-see chrysanthemum diorama every year.ContinueContinue reading “Killer Chrysanthemums 2019”
The Enchanted Hydrangea Forest
The spring rainy season isn’t the most delightful time to be in Japan…unless you’re hiking through a shady forest, surrounded by heaps and heaps of blue hydrangeas! Minamisawa Ajisai Mountain’s groomed trails wind up the side of a mountain, through a silent and stately cedar forest that’s robed in countless poufs of cooling blue andContinueContinue reading “The Enchanted Hydrangea Forest”
Gateway To Chrysanthemum Bliss?
Okay, what do you think THIS floral designer got in trouble for drawing in the margins of his schoolbooks…? If I’d come in through this portal, I might never have made it to the annual Shinjuku National Garden chrysanthemum displays, because I’d have died laughing, so it’s a good thing I entered from the otherContinueContinue reading “Gateway To Chrysanthemum Bliss?”
In The Japanese Dahlia Garden
There’s a secret walled garden at the Ueno Toshogu Shrine that’s only open once a year for peony season, but guess what? This year they’re letting us come in to see the dahlias too! Bring your thesaurus, though, so you don’t wear out the word WOW. Open: Every day from September 30 – October 29ContinueContinue reading “In The Japanese Dahlia Garden”
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 eyeContinueContinue reading “Butterfly Season In Tokyo”
Secret Flower Seasons of Japan
So, everybody knows about the cherry blossoms, and I bet you flower mavens even know about the glories of the plums, wisteria, azaleas and iris. But recently a bunch of parks & gardens have figured out that the best way to attract crowds of wallet-carrying camera-toters in the off-season is to plant lots and lotsContinueContinue reading “Secret Flower Seasons of Japan”
Endless Fields Of Blue
Every once in a while you discover a place where the photos that made you run to the nearest station and jump on godzilla-knows-how-many-trains to get there did not lie. Not even a little bit. Those pictures of hills swathed in an unbroken carpet of blue flowers at Hitachi Seaside Park? 100% REAL. Then there was this rōnin… And it’sContinueContinue reading “Endless Fields Of Blue”
Where To See The Most Beautiful Wisteria In Tokyo
You haven’t seen wisteria until you’ve ogled the giant purple vines of Tokyo. Not only is each plant astoundingly huge and lush with garlands of blooms, the streamers of flowers can be nearly a meter long! Here are my favorite places to see them in Tokyo: • NISHIARAI DAISHI TEMPLE This year is the firstContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Most Beautiful Wisteria In Tokyo”
If I Were A Thousand Years Old, I Would Not Be Putting Out Like This
This tree is so famous, it has a name: Miharu The Waterfall Cherry I mean, look at it. This tree is a THOUSAND years old. It has cranked out cascades of blossoms like this every spring, a thousand times. And if yesterday was any indication, the grand old lady is showing no signs of shirking anytime soon. Even when it freakin’ snowsContinueContinue reading “If I Were A Thousand Years Old, I Would Not Be Putting Out Like This”
What’s Blooming In Japan Right Now?
So, around this time of year, I get to thinking about how everybody is about to crowd into Japan to see the fluffy pink things, but that cherry blossom season is far from the only time that this place delivers yowzah-level flower extravaganzas. So I made a thing. Here’s what’s blooming when, and the best places to take photosContinueContinue reading “What’s Blooming In Japan Right Now?”
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 youContinueContinue reading “Yes, This Is One Wisteria Plant!”
Only In Japan 