Omiya Hana no Oka, or Omiya Hananooka Norin Garden as it is called on Google Maps, is a small but beautiful park in Saitama City with flowers every month of the year. Right now in January 2023 there are already plum blossoms in bloom. The pansies are in bloom too.
Omiya Hananooka Norin Garden
The Omiya Hana no Oka is a park that is straddled across the cities of Saitama and Ageo. It is under the jurisdiction of Saitama City, but feels more like rural Ageo. It isn’t a particularly large park, but thanks to the effort of local volunteers flowers bloom in the park all year round. The park is particularly known for its salvia which grow in summer and autumn.
As well as being geographically split between two cities, it is also split into two parts. The Hana no Oka road splits the two sides of the park. The part on the south side of the road is actually quite small. But in spring you can see tulips and cherry blossoms in bloom together in that area. There is a community garden center in the south park. They often have bonsai on display. There are battery cars, operated by coins, beside the community center.
The part of the park that is North of Hana no Oka road is much larger. Moreover, there is even a restaurant and shop in this part of the park. This side has a small playground. There’s not a lot in the playground and its quite dated, but young children enjoy it. A big draw of this park in the summer is the large splash pad. In 2021, it was one of the few parks that allowed children play in the splash pad. However, please note there is no shade in the water area at all. There is shade on the side, from trees nearby. There are some nice open green spaces where you can picnic and bikes are allowed.
The park has all the usual facilities: toilets, vending machines and a drinking water fountain. Please note that pets are not allowed in this park. Despite the relative smallness of the park, there are three car parks. One in the south park, one on the south end of the North park and one at the very North of the park.
Flowers
A summary of some of the flowers and blooms you can see at Omiya Hananooka Norin Garden park. By season:
Winter
- Pansies – January
- Wintersweet – January
- Plum blossoms – late January to mid February
In my home land of Ireland, about the only thing that blooms in January is the daffodils. However, in Japan there are so many – relatively speaking -flowers and blossoms that bloom in January. In Omiya Hana no Oka right now, there are pansies and wintersweet in bloom. And the plum blossoms have started too.
Spring
- Cherry blossoms – late March to early April for the Somei Yoshino, late April for the Yaezakura. You can see cherry blossoms with tulips and other flowers at this park.
- Tulips – April
- Azalea – April to early May
- Nemophila or ‘Baby Blue Eyes’. Omiya Hana no Oka has both blue as well as white colored nemophila in bloom in April
- Shibazakura or Moss Phlox. Its quite a small display, but as you can see above its very picturesque. Generally bloom around Golden week.
- Poppies – on May 14th 2022 they will have a poppy festival for the first time in three years. From 10 am to 4 pm, poppy picking until 3 pm.
Summer
- Salvia – they bloom from end of July right up to October. Saitama Prefecture is the largest producer of Salvia in all of Japan. Konosu city specifically produces more salvia than anywhere else. At Omiya Hana no Oka Park you can see red salvia, aka scarlet sage, and blue salvia. There are about six or seven different salvia fields within the park. In September and October you can see them blooming with cosmos. And in August you can see them blooming with…
- Sunflowers – the sunflowers bloom around mid August.
Autumn
- Cosmos – September to November. Generally you can see white, purple, lilac and burgundy colored cosmos in Omiya Hana No Oka from around the start of September. They are right beside the playground in the park. Moreover, in 2021, they actually seem to have planted another field to bloom in November.
- Kochia – August to October. They are green in August and turn pink around the end of September then flaming red around the end of October. In 2021, they appear to be lasting long. As of October 29th 2021 they are almost flaming red.
- Spider lilies – they typically bloom the last two weeks of September. There are white and red spider lilies in the small section of the park that is cut off from the rest by the main road. There is also a handful of spider lilies in the center of the main part of the park.
- Autumn Roses – Autumn roses will start to bloom around the last weekend of September. There are a few bushes dotted around the park with more in the manicured garden near the main car park. They come into full bloom around the end of October.
- Pumpkin patch – from mid August to around mid October. It is one of the few parks that has a pumpkin patch too. You can’t walk among the pumpkin, just view them from a bridge. Some of the kochia are beside the giant pumpkins. The pumpkins are usually visible late September to around mid October.
Harvest Festival
In Autumn they also have an Harvest Festival. In 2023 it will be on Saturday October 28th and Sunday October 29th.
The park may not be particularly big. And it may not have any particular claim to fame. But it is a nice place for a walk. It is also a nice place for young children to play. And even though none of their flower displays are particularly large, they are all beautiful and well cared for.
Omiya Hana No Oka Information
| Hours: | 8 am to 6 pm |
| Cost: | Free |
| Address: | 124 Nishiarai, Nishi Ward, Saitama City, Saitama 331-0049 |
| Phone: | 048-622-5781 |
| Online: | Official website |
Access
You can get a bus from the west exit of Miyahara station on the Takasaki Line to Omiya Hana no Oka park. However, please note, it only stops at the park three times a day. The Ageo city bus stops at the park too. It is also not very frequent, but during office hours there is generally one an hour.
The park is located off route 17, the newer route not the Nakasendo way. The park is about a 20 minute drive from the Ken-o expressway Okegawa Kitamoto interchange along the new route 17. As per above, there are three main car parks for the park. One of the parking lots is on the Ageo side and the other two are on the Nishi ward side in Saitama City. There is no charge for parking.
Other flowers in bloom in Saitama Prefecture right now (January 2023):
now i understand why face masks are worn in Japan for HAY-FEVER!