Where to admire hydrangeas in Tokyo?

1. Bunkyo Ajisai Matsuri (Tokyo)

The Bunkyo Ajisai Matsuri is an unmissable event that welcomes several hundred visitors each year who come to admire the tangy colors of its hydrangeas.

Articulated around the Hakusan shrine and its small garden, the festival sees more than 3,000 flowers bloom to the sound of the neighborhood orchestra. Food and drink stand also accompany the whole thing, to the delight of festival-goers.

2. Toshimaen (Tokyo)

Located northwest of Tokyo, Toshimaen is very popular with Tokyoites.

Built in 1926, the oldest amusement park in the capital now has more than 30 different attractions, as well as a water park that delights children when the good weather returns.

In June, more than 10,000 hydrangeas of 150 different varieties also decorate its paths. Ephemeral beauties that you will have to hurry to admire, since Toshimaen will close its doors for good at the end of the year, before being transformed into a Harry Potter theme park, which is scheduled to open in 2023.

3. Asukayama Park (Tokyo)

Located north of the capital, in the small district of Oj i, Asukayama is a pretty 280-year-old park known for its countless sakura trees. At the end of spring, however, it is for its 15,000 azaleas and 1,300 hydrangeas that attract crowds, with flowers brightening up its playgrounds and three museums.

Further information

Address: 1 Chome-1-3 Oji, Kita City, Tokyo 114-0002

Access: 10 min on foot from Oji station (Keihin-Tohoku, Namboku lines)

Hours: end of May to end of June

4. Ueno Park (Tokyo)

Arranged over more than 530,000 m², Ueno Park is commonly visited for its art museums or zoo. However, it is home to several hundred plant varieties, ranging from Japanese apricots to cherry trees, and of course to hydrangeas. If you walk there in June, maybe you will have the chance to enjoy it?

• Read also: The little-known history of Ueno Park

5. Takahata (Hino) Temple

A stone's throw from Tokyo, in the suburb of Hino, the Takahata Fudoson Kongoji temple seduces flower lovers every year.

At the foot of the mountain which has welcomed it since 1342, the temple is adorned with a multitude of hydrangeas when the month of June arrives! A cluster of shimmering colors, whose purple, pink, and purple tones keep company with the 88 small jizô that line the place of worship.

6. Hattori Hydrangea Farm (Chiba)

Responding to the name of Hattori noen Ajisai yashiki in Japanese, this somewhat special farm has hosted a lovely hydrangea festival since the 1900s.

Every year in June, more than 300 varieties of Ajisai are displayed for all to see. A labyrinth of flowers, a small neighboring hill, and winding paths, the farm offers a unique experience on the outskirts of Tokyo. An experiment which, there is no doubt, will reward seasoned walkers in the rainy season.