Missed out on Cherry Blossom season? Don’t worry, Japan’s spring scenery has so much more to offer. Neighbouring Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture is easily accessible by train and has countless fields of flowers, festivals and traditions all perfect to see after cherry blossom season is over.
If you want to get your flower-fix, here are three easy day trips from Tokyo to make the most of Japan’s late spring colours and traditions.
Kurihama Flower Park
Located on the tip of the Miura Peninsula, Kurihama Flower Park is home to a 20,000 square metre poppy field, with as many as one million flowers blooming from April until early June.
The huge park offers plenty of opportunities to wander freely and explore; there is a foot bath, herb gardens, greenhouses, an archery range and even lavender ice-cream available for purchase.
While wandering the park, be on the lookout for the giant Godzilla statue. The park is co-joint with a children’s adventure park, and the monster’s tail has been transformed into a slide. While Godzilla might seem a little out of place, remember in the original 1954 film, Godzilla emerged from Miura’s coast!
How to get there:
From Shinagawa station in Tokyo, take the Keikyu Main line to Keikyu-Kurihama Station, and change to local bus to reach the Kurihama Flower Park in under 1.5 hours.
Meigetsuin Temple
Meigetsuin Temple was founded in 1160 in Kamakura and is named by locals as ‘Ajisaidera’ (Hydrangea Temple) because of the hydrangea flowers that bloom in abundance on the temple grounds during early June.
The blue of the hydrangeas creates a vibrant contrast against the fresh greenery and grey of the temple, making wandering the temple grounds a truly immersive experience.
If hydrangeas aren’t your flower of choice, the temple’s inner garden is also famed for its irises, and is only open to visitors only during summer and autumn when the irises are in bloom.
How to get there:
From Tokyo, ride the JR Yokosuka Line for about 50-minutes until Kita-Kamakura Station. From there, Meigetsuin Temple is a 10-minute walk.
Yokosuka Shobu-en
Yokosuka is a city on the Tokyo Bay side of the Miura Peninsula, and although famed for its history as a Naval docking point and a hub for sailors, Yokosuka is home to one of the country’s largest Botanical Gardens. The Yokosuka Shobu-en botanical garden is 7,000 square metres wide and has countless varieties of flowers with the majority coming into bloom between late May and early July. The garden has 250 wisteria plants of 11 different varieties which bloom in May over tunnels and trellis that allow visitors to see the flowers at eye level.
Yet this park is loved by locals for another flower – Irises! The park has an impressive 412 varieties of the flower and a total of around 140,000 irises in June when they are in full bloom. The ‘Hana Shobu Festival’ is held every year in June, and at this time you can see the garden workers wearing the traditional kimono tending to the flowers.
How to get there:
Taking the JR Yokosuka line from Tokyo station, ride for 1.5 hours until Kinugasa Station and transfer to local bus from bus stop no. 3 outside the station which drops you off at the front of the park in under ten minutes.
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