There is always something to see at the excellent Kodai Hasu No Sato

Rice Field Art, Ancient Lotus, Water lilies, Wintersweet, Plum Blossoms, Cherry Blossoms, Observation Tower, Nature Hall, Winter Illumination and Park (with small playground) at Kodai Hasu no Sato in Gyoda City. Also a popular spot to witness the first sunrise of the year.

Kodai Hasu no Sato

Kodai Hasu no Sato is a medium sized park in Gyoda City. It is famous for both its ancient lotus and its rice field art. However, in recent years its also becoming increasingly known for its wintersweet in January and its Plum Blossoms in February. Moreover, there are some beautiful cherry blossoms in the park.

Kodai Hasu no Sato through the seasons

There is something to see in every season in Kodai Hasu no Sato. In spring, summer and winter there are seasonal flowers and in late summer / early autumn you can see the rice field art. First up summer, when you can see the lotus, which are the namesake of the park…

Summer

Kodai Hasu No Sato 古代蓮の里 can be translated as ‘the village of ancient lotus’. Kodai 古代 means ancient and Hasu 蓮 means lotus. Sato is a word used for village and the ‘no’ in front of it indicates possession…

Ancient Lotus at Kodai Hasu no Sato

“Kodai Hasu no Sato (Ancient Lotus Pond)” treats visitors to the mysterious beauty of Gyoda lotus flowers that awoke from an ancient sleep in Gyoda. From June through August, some 120,000 lotus flowers of 42 types can be seen on the grounds. Climb the observation tower from summer through autumn to see “huge rice paddy art” spread across a paddy canvas from 50 meters above ground.

From the official website, linked at the bottom of the post

The ancient lotus were discovered at a garbage incineration plant in 1971*. Until that time, the variation of lotus that they found were believed to be extinct for 1400 years. It was an incredible and rare discovery. The lotus typically bloom in June and July with some lingering in August for the rare opportunity to view rice field art and lotus simultaneously.

Before the lotus bloom you can see water lilies in the park, from around mid May to early June. However, in 2023, the water lilies probably belong under the ‘spring’ heading as they started to bloom on April 25th! In early June you can usually see fireflies in the “firefly river”. There will be an official firefly viewing event on the nights of Saturday June 10th and Sunday June 11th.

Autumn

The highlight of late summer and early Autumn is the rice field ‘tanbo’ art. In 2021, the rice field art was most visible in summer, but normally best viewing is late August and early September.

Rice Field Art at Kodai Hasu No Sato

The rice field art is a more recent addition to the area. The first display was just 13 years ago. It was very basic (top left corner).  The designs have become more elaborate and bigger over the years, shown in the collage from left to right, top to bottom. And in 2015 (bottom right photo on left with boy in an astro suit) the field was awarded the Guinness World Record for the largest work of rice field art. The art work, which uses 9 different types of rice for contrast, is over an approximate 27,000 square meters.

Information about the annual Rice Field Art Display

The rice field art can be viewed from the fifty meter high observation tower. More on that below seasonal information.

Winter

In January and early February you can see Wintersweet in Kodai Hasu no Sato. They are followed by plum blossoms, which start to bloom around the very end of January.

Wintersweet

There is a small wintersweet grove in Kodai Hasu no Sato, on the North end of the park. It is relatively new, but the wintersweet in the park have already made a name for themselves. They bloom from around early January to early February. The first photo in the above gallery of the wintersweet is with the lotus tower in the background. The Lotus Tower is a symbol of the park. Photos were taken on January 26th 2022.

Wintersweet Festival

In 2023, the wintersweet were declared “in bloom” on January 7th. The festival has also been confirmed for 2023, for the first time in three years. It will be on Saturday January 28th and Sunday January 29th 2023. They always wait to see the condition of the wintersweet to decide the date. Thus, there is usually short notice for the festival. The information is normally released to their Twitter account and updated on the official website too about a week before the festival.

9 other places for wintersweet in Saitama Prefecture

Plum Blossoms

The plum blossoms are also relatively new and already well known locally. In the short few years since they were first planted, they have already grown to a recent height. When I published this post in 2018 I wrote “I have great faith that in the future, the 200 plum blossoms at Kodai Hasu no Sato will become quite famous locally!” In 2022, that is already the case. A few plum blossoms were already peaking through on my last visit, January 26th 2022. But typically the best time to see them is February.

As of January 7th 2023 there are a few plum blossom flowers already blooming.

Plum Blossom Festival 2023

Awaiting information for 2023. The festival was on in 2022 so I presume it will be in 2023 too. My feeling is that, just like the wintersweet, they won’t announce the festival until a couple of days before the event. I presume it will either be on the weekend of February 18th OR the weekend of February 25th. The festival is usually on from 9 am to 4.30 pm. They normally give plum blossom seeds to the first 50 people each day.

9 other places for plum blossoms in Saitama Prefecture

Spring

Cherry Blossoms

The cherry blossoms in the park are already well known. They were planted long before the wintersweet or plum blossoms, in November 1996. Typically, they bloom from the end of March to early April. For two days during the cherry blossom bloom period the park has a sakura matsuri (cherry blossom festival):

Sakura Matsuri and Soul Food Festival

“Lotus” Observation Tower at Kodai Hasu No Sato

The observation tower is beside the main car park for the facilities at the site. It costs 400 yen to enter and 200 yen for children six years old and over. On Saitama Citizen’s day, November 14th annually, children can enter for free. The tower is fifty meters high and gives a 360 view of Gyoda and surrounding areas. It gives the best (and only aerial) view of the rice paddy art.

The building is just a tower with nothing between the ground floor and the observation deck, except the elevator shaft! There is a full window on one side of the elevator so you a nice view, but not of the rice paddy art which is on a side within the elevator shaft. There is a rest area, toilets and an educational area on the first floor. The educational area includes a small reading area, various displays, a small movie room and a tiny but interesting and fun nature museum. The tower and its grounds are illuminated in winter. Moreover, the tower opens especially on New Year’s morning at 6 am for Hatsuhinode.

Hatsuhinode 2022

Hatsuhinode is one of my favorite New Year traditions – watching the first sunrise of the year. Anyone can apply, in advance, for this exclusive chance to witness the first sunrise of the year from the tower. However, only 70 lucky people are chosen (by a lottery system). The tower opens at 6 am to 9 am especially for the occasion. They are already taking bookings for New Year’s Day 2022. The deadline for reservation is December 12th 2021. Official event information here.

Nature museum at Kodai Hasu no Sato

Calling it a museum is generous, but it is worth mentioning this small area for those visiting with kids. It will only take you 20 minutes to go through the nature displays here, but they are fun for young children as they are interactive.

Other facilities at the Park

Beside the tower there is a udon restaurant, food kiosk and shop with a communal rest area. There are drink vending machines in at least two different locations. Even when there is nothing in bloom the park is a nice place to walk. There are lots of bridges and promenades over the various lotus ponds. There is also a small lake which attracts dozens of ducks in winter. On a visit in January 2022 there were at least 200 ducks in the pond!

Kodai Hasu no Sato with kids

There is a small playground on the west side of the park. It has a roller slide, a combination play unit, spring rides and a train shaped combination unit for smaller children. There is a shallow wading stream that kids can paddle feet in during the summer. That is near the observation tower.

Information

Hours

The park is open 24 hours. The facilities such as the tower have different opening hours depending on the season. During the rice field art period, the tower is open daily from 9 am to 4.30 pm.  During September and other months it closes on Mondays. In December when they have winter illumination the tower opens until 9 pm.

Cost

400 yen to enter the tower for adults, 200 yen for children aged over 6 years old.

Parking is free most of the year, but they do sometimes charge during the height of lotus season (June / July).

You can see up-to-date hours and costs (Japanese only) on the official site:

Website

https://www.ikiiki-zaidan.or.jp/kodaihasu

Access

You can get a bus to the park from Gyoda Station on the JR Takasaki line. If you are coming by car there are two parking lots. One on the North end of the park and one, the main one, on the south by the observation tower. The park is about 30 minutes drive from the Hanyu Interchange of the Tohoku Expressway. And about the same (30 minutes) from the Okegawa Kitamoto Interchange of the Ken-o expressway.