Saitama Tulips – Japan Travel ideas

Saitama Tulips – Japan Travel ideas for April

During this Coronavirus lock down period virtual travel is not the only booming trend, Japan travel planning is also on the increase. As people look forward to a life after Covid, they are thinking about all the places they want to travel. April is a great month to visit Japan. For several reasons, not least of all the cherry blossoms.

But cherry blossoms are not the only bloom in Japan in April, we have dozens including nemophilia, azalea, shibazakura, peonies and even tulips. There are several famous tulip viewing locations throughout Japan. People even travel specifically to Japan to visit some of these photogenic locations, such as the Sakura Tulip Festival in Chiba with more than half a million tulips.

Saitama Tulips

Saitama hasn’t been particularly famous for tulips, but in the last couple of years one location has increased its fame and popularity for tulip viewing. If you search (in Japanese) for the best places to view tulips in the Kanto Region, one location in Saitama comes up time and time again. Omiya Hana no Oka Norin Park, a park straddled between Saitama and Ageo cities in central Saitama.

The location close to Tokyo, but not in Tokyo is one of the draws of this otherwise unassuming park in the rural area of Omiya, a large ward in Saitama Prefecture’s capital city. Part of the park is also in Ageo city which like Omiya is a commuter city. Many people travel to Tokyo to work daily from these cities, but neither are densely populated or crowded metropolis. And both have maintained green, nature and rural areas of the city.

Omiya Hana no Oka Norin Park

There are of course several other places you can view tulips in Saitama, but Omiya Hananooka has made quite a name for itself. Not just for tulips, but as a seasonal flower mecca for photographers and instagrammers. The park has featured on this blog in the past for its saliva and kochia.

Tulips in Omiya Hana No Oka

Tulips are perennial, but they are treated as annuals in many places in Japan (and worldwide). The flower space in Omiya Hana no Oka is reused throughout the year to display seasonal blooms, so the tulips are replanted annually. There are approximately 24,000 tulips over 3.3 hectares in the park (Source: Saitama Photo Blog – Japanese language only).

They normally bloom for all of April and until early May. However, this year 2020 they came into bloom earlier than normal and they will probably finish up earlier than normal too. Which is a pattern we are seeing with all blooms, flowers and flora this year. There are various colors including white, yellow, pink, red, purple and even a few two toned tulips too.

East end

The park is split into two separated by a road. The east end of the park on the far side of the road is just a small park with flora displays its main attraction. This is where one of the larger tulip displays is.

Display by the bridge

The white bridge in the center of the main part of the park is somewhat an icon of Omiya Hana no Oka. A lot of the seasonal displays are landscaped to have the bridge in the background. The tulips are no exception.

Also in bloom

Other trees and flowers that bloom in Omiya Hana no Oka in April include:

• Cherry blossoms
• Yaezakura or double cherry blossoms. Yaezakura is the collective name for cherry blossoms with more than five petals.
• Shibazakura
• Nemophilia
• Azalea

For more information on the blooms in other months and seasons see here.

Cherry Blossoms

The cherry blossoms generally bloom the last week in March and the first week in April. However, as they were early this year, they were finished by the start of April. Those that timed it right got to see and take some photos of the sakura with tulips. A truly beautiful sight. The above photo was added on March 23rd 2021 – the right timing for cherry blossoms, but the main tulips are not sprouting yet! Thankfully there were a few in another flower bed.

Yaezakura

Yaezakura are also currently in bloom in the park too. They are near the central picturesque white bridge.

Shibazakura

On the west end of the park there is a shibazakura display. It is quite small and isn’t in any particular pattern (that I could discern), but it is beautiful all the same.

Nemophilia

I was so happy to see nemophilia this year at Omiya Hana no Oka. Even if they weren’t as dramatic and impressing as the displays in Shinrin Park or Hitachinaka Seaside Park. They have both white and blue nemophilia displays dotted around the park.

Azalea

There are a few azalea bushes in the park. Only a few were in bloom. To be honest, I am not sure if they are late or were early. But judging by azalea in my own neighborhood, I would say that quite a lot of the azalea are already finished for this year.

Omiya Hana No Oka Information

Access Hana no Oka Park

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. 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. All are free.