Ashikaga Flower Park

Ashikaga Flower Park, located in Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture, is a “paradise of flowers and light” where visitors can enjoy seasonal blooms and fantastical illuminations. It has earned nationwide acclaim in the illumination event category and has also been selected as one of Japan’s Three Great Illuminations, certified by the Night View Tourism Convention & Bureau. It is furthermore known as the only Japanese destination included in CNN’s list of “Japan’s 10 Dream Destinations,” making it a popular spot visited by many tourists from both Japan and abroad.

History of the Park’s Opening
Ashikaga Flower Park began in 1968 as Hayakawa Farm, which opened in Horigome-cho, Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture (now Asakura-cho). Locally, it was beloved as the “250-tatami Great Wisteria.” Due to urban development, it was relocated in 1997 to its current site in Hazama-cho, Ashikaga City, and reopened as Ashikaga Flower Park.

Because the new site had once been a wetland, more than 250 tons of charcoal were laid to purify the soil and invigorate its life force, creating a garden in harmony with nature. Today, the park boasts an area of approximately 100,000 square meters—about twice the size of Tokyo Dome—and welcomes visitors with flowers in full bloom throughout the seasons.

The Great Wisteria and “The Story of Wisteria Blossoms”
The park’s symbol, the “Great Wisteria,” is said to be a Noda Kokusaku Fuji over 160 years old, and was beautifully transplanted under the guidance of Konami Tsukamoto, Japan’s first female tree doctor.
Transplanting a wisteria over 130 years old was an unprecedented challenge that attracted nationwide attention, and it is now known as the first successful case of its kind in Japan.

Within the park are several large wisteria trellises, including Noda Kokusaku Fuji and Yae Kurokakukiri Fuji, as well as an approximately 80-meter-long white wisteria tunnel; these are designated as natural monuments of Tochigi Prefecture.

Every year from mid-April to mid-May, “The Story of Wisteria Blossoms ~ Great Wisteria Festival ~” is held. More than 350 wisteria vines bloom across the park’s approximately 100,000 square meters, filling the spring landscape with purple, white, pink, and yellow blossoms that are staggered by color and flowering time. At night, the flowers are illuminated, offering a fantastical scene different from that of the daytime.

Flowers That Color the Seasons
Ashikaga Flower Park is divided into eight themes throughout the year, allowing visitors to enjoy flowers in every season.
The themes are “Early Spring,” “Spring Flower Festival,” “The Story of Wisteria Blossoms,” “Rainbow Garden,” “Blue & White Garden,” “Flower Fairies Floating on the Water,” “Purple Garden,” and “Garden of Illuminated Flowers.”

In spring, tulips, cherry blossoms, wisteria, clematis, and roses bloom profusely. In early summer, rhododendrons and irises reach their best viewing period. In summer, hydrangeas and water lilies bloom, while in autumn, more than 20,000 amethyst sage plants turn the park completely purple. In winter, the illuminations take center stage.
One of the park’s greatest attractions is that visitors can enjoy a completely different landscape each time they come.

Garden of Illuminated Flowers — An Illumination Recognized by the World
Held from late October to mid-February of the following year, “Garden of Illuminated Flowers” is an illumination event highly praised throughout Japan. Since being selected for the first time as one of Japan’s Three Great Illuminations in 2017, its presentation has continued to evolve every year.

In 2024, it won first place nationwide in the “Excellence Award for Technical Skill” category at the 2nd International Illumination Award, following the previous year’s “Excellence Award for Storytelling,” achieving back-to-back awards for two consecutive years.

The park uses approximately 5 million LED bulbs to create beautiful light displays with environmental care and energy efficiency in mind. Diverse illuminations brighten the night garden, including the “Four Seasons of Japan” area, which combines projection mapping and illumination; the fully renovated “Flower Castle”; “The Story of Illuminated Wisteria Blossoms,” themed around four colors of wisteria; and “Snow World,” where Santa Claus and auroras appear to float across the sky.

There is also much to admire in the “Pyramid of Light” reflected on the water’s surface, the approximately 25-meter-tall “Illumination Tower,” and the “Milky Way,” which shines as if floating in the sky. It is truly a dreamlike world woven from flowers and light.

Gourmet and Access
Inside the park, there are various dining options, including local Tochigi specialties, Western-style restaurants, and light snack corners. One popular menu item is “Fuji Soft,” an original dessert inspired by the fragrance of wisteria. Its gentle aroma and refined sweetness captivate visitors.

In 2018, JR Ryomo Line’s Ashikaga Flower Park Station opened, making access even more convenient. From Tokyo, it takes about 90 minutes by train, making it an easy day trip where visitors can enjoy seasonal flowers at leisure.

Ashikaga Flower Park is one of Japan’s signature “theme parks of flowers and light,” woven from seasonal blossoms and world-class illuminations.
From its great wisteria over a hundred years old to seasonal flowers and light displays that illuminate the night sky, it offers inspiration and healing to all who visit.
Spring wisteria, summer flowers, autumn sage, winter light—this is a place where new discoveries and beauty can be found any time of year. Why not visit and experience the stories of flowers that change with the seasons?