Strawberry Candle flowers and Lotus Grass in Kawagoe and general information for May flowers in Japan.
Update April 25th 2023: the strawberry candle flowers in the Fukuda area of Kawagoe are already reaching full bloom! However, the Lotus Grass (Renge) is not blooming at all!
Original post:
As of Children’s Day May 5th 2022, the Lotus Grass is in full bloom in many areas of Saitama and the Kanto area beyond. And the Strawberry candle flowers aka Crimson Clover are starting to bloom in Japan too. This post contains some general information about May flowers and more specific information for Strawberry Candle Flowers and Lotus Grass in Saitama Prefecture. And for those living in Kawagoe; an off the beaten path location to see both Strawberry Candle flowers and Lotus Grass. It is on the popular Kawagoe Iruma River cycle course, so it maybe of interest to cyclists too. However, although it is en-route to the tourist area of Kawagoe (for anyone using the Ken-o expressway Kawajima Interchange), unfortunately there is no parking or facilities.
May flowers
We have a saying in Ireland “spring showers bring May flowers”. Due to a jet stream in Ireland and the UK in April, there are frequent rain showers. With the result May has an abundance of flowers. However, Japan has a very different climate. May actually has less flowers than in April, in my humble opinion. And most of the flowers that bloom in early May in Japan are really April flowers carried over! In addition, many of the flowers that bloom at the end of May are actually early blooming June flowers! Don’t get me wrong, there are of course lots of flowers, but while I could name dozens of April flowers, I struggle to list more than one dozen that bloom mid May in Japan.
Usually in early May you can see wisteria, azalea, tulips and moss phlox. However, all of those were early to bloom in both 2021 and 2022 and thus past their peak by May Day. On the flip side, it is possible this year we will be able to see Irises (hanashobu), Lavender and Hydrangea in late May. They normally begin to bloom in June, but if they follow the pattern of other spring flowers they may well be up to two weeks early this year. Gongendo Park are predicting that their famous hydrangea will be in bloom by the end of May in 2022.
Roses, Ayame and Kakitsubata (types of iris), and poppies are the most abundant flowers in bloom in May in Japan. Butterfly flowers also bloom in May, but they aren’t that common. At the end of May water lilies are generally in bloom and this year (2022) several of the June flowers should also be flowering by the end of May too. You can also see renge, which is called lotus grass in English. It reminds me greatly of Alfalfa. Another flower that grows in early May, but it is under appreciated, is the Strawberry Candle flower. (Unfortunately, in 2023 it may not last past Golden Week as it was so early to bloom).
Strawberry Candle Flowers
Strawberry Candle flowers scientific name is Trifolium incarnatum. It is a species of clover, thus in the herb family. It is most commonly called Crimson Clover or Italian Clover. However, in Japanese they call it Strawberry Candle flower. According to Wikipedia, it is native to most of Europe, but they grow it in Japan and several other countries.
A search in English for ‘Trifolium incarnatum or Crimson / Italian clover in Japan’ online brings up some stock photos. However, in terms of locations, it turns up little. But if you search Strawberry Candle flower in English it brings up references to Kanagawa and Chiba, no specific locations. However, if you search in Japanese you bring up dozens of locations. Within Saitama top of the list is the Fukuda Area of Kawagoe. The community fields in the Fukuda area of Kawagoe, currently have both renge and strawberry candles in bloom:
Kawagoe Satoyama Initiative
The Satoyama Initiative is Japan’s response to the global biodiversity crises. The Ministry of Environment of Japan and the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability started the initiative. There is detailed information in English about the concept and exercises of the project on the official Satoyama Initiative website. The ministry also has an online brochure (pdf) in English. In Kawagoe city they are running a number of projects as part of the Satoyama Initiative. One of those projects is creating rice fields that are “kind to creatures”.
Kawagoe Strawberry Candle Flowers
In the Fukuda area of Kawagoe there are several rice fields were locals in the community plant flowers in April. They plant renge lotus grass and strawberry candle flowers. One of the uses of the latter, strawberry candle flowers, in agriculture is to fix nitrogen levels of fields. Thus it works well for the Satoyama initiative. They plant them to bloom for Golden Week.
As I said in the opening paragraph, this really is a location for locals or cyclists. But they have signs up welcoming people and encouraging people to come see them. It is not a huge display, but you wouldn’t call it small either. However, please note there are no facilities or even parking. If you are visiting briefly, it may be alright to park at the side of the road. In addition, you can get to the fields by public transport if you live in the area:
Access
You can get a bus from the East exit rotary of Kawagoe. You can get a bus from bus stop number 2 or 3. The number 2 bus stop bus is bound for Higashimatsuyama, #3 for Konosu Drivers License Center. Alight at the bus stop just before “Ochiai bashi”. Its about a four minute walk from the bus stop.
Kawagoe Satoyama official website
Even more on the Fukuda area: