Ashikaga Flower Park : Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture

Ashikaga Flower Park : Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture – アシカガフラワーパーク (栃木県足利市 : あしかがフラワーパーク) –

This botanical garden is popular with people from overseas, and I’ve always wanted to visit, so I happened to be in Tochigi Prefecture so I decided to stop by.
On the first day, it was raining lightly, and we took a stroll around Sakomatsu Nature Observation Park once the rain stopped. When it was raining lightly, it was very empty and I don’t like crowds, so I hesitated about going to Ashikaga Flower Park, but it looked like it was going to be sunny the next day, so I decided to go to Ashikaga Flower Park on the second day.

The next day was a beautiful sunny day, and the parking lot was filled to capacity by weekday morning. I heard that if I paid the admission fee, I could see the entire exhibition until the evening, so I considered sticking around until the evening, but gave up.（※Re-entry is not possible. Once you leave, you will need to pay the admission fee again.）(;^ω^)
The evening session is from 17:30 to 21:00, and the full-day admission fee will allow you to stay until the evening session.
*The lights will be on from 16:30 to 17:00. *The period and time are subject to change.

It’s easy to see why the evening session is so popular!（＾ω＾）
I’d love to see it lit up at night someday, but it was beautiful even during the day.

The entrance fee varies depending on the state of the flowers.

There are no fixed holidays, but the park is closed on the third Wednesday and Thursday of February and December 31st.
*Please note that the park may be closed for equipment inspections, etc. Please check the official website for admission fees and closed days.

Ashikaga Flower Park Homepage

https://www.ashikaga.co.jp/[Ashikaga Flower Park Homepage] 

Admission fees for 2025
January 1st to March 31st, Adults: ¥500-¥900, Children: ¥300-¥500.
April 1st to May 31st, Adults: ¥900-¥2,300, Children: ¥500-¥1,200.
June 1st to June 30th, Adults: ¥800-¥1,300, Children: ¥400-¥700.
July 1st to December 30th, (Daytime session) Adults: ¥400-800, Children: ¥200-400.
October 18th to February 15th (evening session scheduled) Adults: ¥1,400, Children: ¥700.
*Child rates apply to ages 4 to elementary school students.
Groups of 20 or more receive a 10% discount off the rates above.
◎Please note that pets are not allowed in the park.

Early spring: early January to late February,Winter-blooming peonies, wax plums, and winter red plums

Spring Flower Festival: Early March to mid-April,Tulips, snow willows, and cherry blossoms

Wisteria Flower Story: Mid-April to mid-May,Wisteria, Azalea, Rhododendron

Rainbow Garden: Mid-May to early June,Roses, rhododendrons, clematis

Blue & White Garden: Early June to early July,Iris and hydrangea

Flower fairies floating on the water: early July to late September,Water lilies

Purple Garden: Early October to mid-November,Amethyst Sage and Autumn Rose

Light Flower Garden: Mid-October to mid-February,illumination

I went in mid-April during the high season and the cost was 2,100 yen.
There are many free parks in Japan where you can see beautiful scenery and flowers, but this was a paid park, so it was beautifully maintained and had been carefully designed to enhance its appearance.
Mid-April was the high season because the famous wisteria”藤＝Fuji” was in full bloom, and other flowers were blooming in the order of pale red, purple, white, and yellow.
The white, pink, red, purple, blue and yellow flowers were colorful and very beautiful.(#^.^#)
And since it was a sunny day with the fresh greenery shining through, it was very busy.
However, I thought that people who suffer from “Aggregophobia,” of which I have a little, might be frightened by the excessive blooming of flowers.(;´･ω･)
It’s just blooming so beautifully.

 Caution：注意（ちゅうい＝Chūi）

Touching the plants is prohibited.

This is sometimes seen at flower viewing parties, where people pull branches to get closer and take pictures of the flowers with children.
Taking flowers home is also prohibited.

Do not do this anywhere other than the toilet.

There are toilets inside the park and in front of the station.
Even where there are no people around, it is not okay to go into the grass.

others

Smoking is prohibited within Ashikaga Flower Park.
If you wish to smoke, please use the smoking area outside the park. Also, please refrain from eating or drinking within the park, except in the food areas.

Ashikaga Flower Park is a paid, managed theme park, so it is less dangerous than natural forests.

There are bees and insects

If there are flowers, bees will come, and even if there are no flowers, there are wasps and other insects. Japan is rich in water, so there are many mosquitoes even outside of summer. There are also black flies (gnats and blackflies), so it is important to avoid them.

This was my first time visiting Ashikaga Flower Park, and there were many people there, from older Japanese people to foreigners and people who came alone like me.（Maybe one person is just acting differently.(._.)）。
Being able to get there by train is probably the best part. It’s about a 3-minute walk from Ashikaga Flower Park Station on the JR Ryomo Line.

This time, the main attraction, wisteria”藤＝Fuji”, was in full bloom and the price was in line with the high season, but there are plants that are in full bloom all year round, so if I’m passing by at a different time of year, I’d like to stop by and introduce them to you.

Thank you for watching.