Information for the 2026 Fukiage Poppy Festival at Cosmos Arena Fukiage. Which, as the name suggests, is best known for its cosmos. They bloom in Autumn, but in May annually the fields by the arena are a sea of red and purple with millions of poppy and corn-cockle (mugi nadeshiko) flowers in bloom. Both the cosmos and the poppies are well-known, not just in Konosu, but the Greater Tokyo area, but a lesser-known fact is that earlier in spring you can see stunning kawazu, somei yoshino cherry blossoms and million of canola flowers around the arena and on the embankment. There is also a pyramid hina doll display. Information for those flowers and hina dolls, with photos, linked here. And you can read more about the other facilities at Cosmos Arena and the Autumn Cosmos Festival here.
Poppy and ‘Nadeshiko’ Corn-cockle Flowers
Around the end of April, poppies and corn-cockles flowers start to grow at Cosmos Fukiage Arena. However, prime viewing for both is generally the middle of May. The corn-cockles at the Fukiage venue are advertised as “Nadeshiko” in Japanese. But nadeshiko flowers translates to “fringed pink” or Dianthus. However, it turns out the nadeshiko flowers at Cosmos Arena are actually “Mugi Nadeshiko” and people just call them “Nadeshiko” for short! Mugi Nadeshiko are corn-cockles.
In one field there are various shades of poppies including white and pink. There is also a field with orange poppies. In addition, there are a couple of fields of red poppies as well as a red poppy and nadeshiko mix. You can usually see carp streamers flying in the nadeshiko fields at Cosmos Arena. However, they have not been put up the last five years due to the pandemic. It remains to be seen if they will be put up in 2026.
I know its quite confusing, but this is not the main site of the “famous poppies” of Konosu. This is the smaller site and it is relatively far from the main site. It would take about an hour, maybe more, to walk between them. But despite being the “smaller” or “sub” site, the poppy fields at Cosmos Arena are very impressive. Furthermore, at this site you can see the flowers backdropped by the picturesque Arakawa Suikan bridge (water pipe bridge). Moreover, the vibrant stunning nadeshiko flowers are generally only grown at this site and not the main site.
Fukiage Poppy Festival
Fukiage Poppy Festival is just one part of the annual Konosu Flower Festival. As aforementioned, they are just one of two poppy fields in Konosu city. It is the smaller of two poppy fields, but it is still massive. The other field, ‘Poppy Happy Square’ is the largest in all of Japan. At Fukiage, the festival is on for two days. In 2026, that is Saturday May 9th and Sunday May 10th. They have a picking event on the Saturday. Moreover, after the festival is over, usually the week after, they allow you to pick the poppies for free. The photo above is from a previous year, as are all photos in this post.
Kounotori Marche
On the two days there is a market at the venue; Kounotori Marche from 10 am to 2 pm. Kounotori is the Japanese for stork and there is a stork pen at the venue. They will have a free quiz rally. The two Kounotori mascots of Konosu, Kouchan and Unochan will come to play! And you can get a photo with them if you see them. The outdoor part of the market / festival has no charge, but there is a 100-yen charge for adults to enter the stork’s house.
>>Don’t miss: Details for the other FOUR locations of the Konosu Flower Festival: poppies, roses, open gardens and a new venue in 2026.
Event Details
Event: The 16th annual Konosu Flower Festival Fukiage Venue Poppy Festival 第16回こうのす花まつり吹上（ポピーとなでしこ）会場
Date: Saturday May 9th and Sunday May 10th 2026
Time: 9 am to 4 pm
Cost: the outdoor part has no cover charge, but there is a fee to go in to the stork pen of 100 yen per adult.
Venue: Cosmos Arena Fukiage, 636 Myoyo, Konosu, Saitama 369-0135. View on Google Maps.
Access
Cosmos Arena Fukiage is a five minute bus ride on the “Flower Bus” （フラワーバス）from JR Takasaki Line Fukiage station（ＪＲ高崎線吹上駅). The bus goes toward Kita Kounosu (北鴻巣行き). The stop for the flowers is called Cosmos Arena Fukiage（コスモスアリーナふきあげ）. On the two days of the festival only there are special shuttle buses that go between all four locations of the Konosu flower festival and either Fukiage Station or Konosu station.
The poppy / cosmos fields are about 11 kilometers from the Higashimatsuyama Interchange of the Kanetsu Expressway. There is free parking for 300 in 2026.
Official Konosu flower festival event web page
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