Ten Colorful Flower Fields and Festivals in Gunma

From mid-April to early May, azaleas bloom throughout Tsutsujigaoka Park. This period is called the Azalea Festival and celebrates the flowering of 10,000-plus azaleas of over 100 varieties. The park is home to a trellised flower tunnel and azalea trees estimated to be over 800 years old which are tall enough to tower over many visitors.

Between mid-July and mid-August, take a boat ride across the lake to see 200 varieties of lotus blooming at the Jonuma Summer Lotus Flower Festival.

Kaneko Seeds Gunma Flower Park is a 184-square-kilometer floral theme park with a variety of themed gardens. View the central garden from the Park Tower, which provides an overview of the central flower bed. A Japanese and an English garden showcase typical seasonal blooms native to the respective countries, while tropical plants from across the globe thrive in the greenhouse.

The main garden is particularly colorful in spring when tulips cover it, but seasonal blooms form interesting displays year-round.

In summer, Tambara Lavender Park blooms with 50,000 lavender plants of about five varieties. Each variety flowers at a different time, ensuring purple tones from mid-July to mid-August. Walk among the fragrant lavender and explore the smaller gardens planted with sunflowers, hydrangeas, and daylilies. Don't miss the opportunity to take the ski lift, the Woody Line, on your way to the lavender fields.

This European style rose garden in Maebashi is a park to linger in. Walk among photogenic gazebos, fountains and statues to explore the park’s 600 varieties of roses. The 7,000 roses in the park are illuminated during the park’s spring and autumn festivals.

This serene Buddhist temple in Kawaba dates back to 1339. Its Japanese garden blooms with more than 100 species of flowers from spring to autumn. Among the species you can find in the Kichijoji Temple garden are lotus flowers, irises, Japanese primrose, and monkshood.

Wisteria bloom in parks and gardens throughout Japan each spring, but few are as spectacular as the Fujioka Wisteria Festival at Fuji no Saku Oka. From April to mid-May, 45 varieties of the plant flower across the 23,000 square-meter park, including a 250-meter-long trellis. The flowers are illuminated as the sun sets, making the wisteria walkway even more magical.

Swirls of about 260,000 red, white, and pink moss phlox create waves and patterns across gently undulating fields during the Misato Moss Phlox Festival. The flowers bloom from mid- to late April against a picturesque mountain backdrop.

Wander fragrant rose gardens blooming with 370 varieties of rose, which are at their best in early June and mid-October. Take a picnic and settle down in a scenic spot to extend your visit to this beautiful garden or join hands-on activities including pottery and plant dyeing. The park also has a flower shop and a cafe to linger in.

Over 150,000 pink rhododendron flowers bloom across from mid-May to early June during the Asama Plateau Rhododendron Festival. Enjoy expansive views of the forests and snow-capped mountains as you wander between vantage points along the park's hiking trails.

Swaths of kogiku, or mini chrysanthemums, cover the gentle hills of Akabori Small Chrysanthemum Park in mid-October. Taste cups of local pork soup, handed out for free, while surrounded by 23,000 square-meters of yellow, red, pink, orange, and white flowers. Visitors are also given free chrysanthemums.