Every year, from late April to early May, you can find beautiful blooms of the wisteria flowers in Ashikaga Flower Park of Tochigi, Japan.
It's easily accessed by JR East's Shinkansen and local train, with a small transfer at Oyama station.
If you're carrying luggages, Sagawa offers a temporary storage area (image above) that you'll find on your way to the park from Ashikaga Flower Park station so no worries! For me, I stored my luggage at Oyama Station because I have planned to head back to Tokyo right after my visit so I'm still getting my luggage anyways (lol).
So how do you get a good chance to view the flowers? What are the things you can expect from here? Read on!! Don't forget to share it out and check out my other travel posts here too ✨✨
1. Check the ticket prices!
In Ashikaga Flower Park, the entrance fees differs daily, especially when you're visiting during the wisteria period. If the day/night viewing price is around 1500(D)/1200(N)JPY you're getting a pretty good chance to see better blooms! The more expensive the ticket is, the prettier the blooms will be ✨
2. Decide if you wanted a day view, night view, or both!
Day view starts from morning till around mid-afternoon, then you can start purchasing tickets from 5PM for the night view! Whenever you purchase tickets you can receive a 20% discount code for your next visit too. If you do plan to stay near Ashikaga Flower Park for a nicer viewing chance, why not? (I have this repeating client doing so and he is absolutely a pro when it comes to flowers!!)
3. Be surprised for your first entry
Without knowing that the first thing that greets you would be a lot of merchandise a in Ashikaga Flower Park, when I first entered I was shocked. "Am I here for wisteria or am I here to shop?" because the merchandise are having SO MUCH of variety! But of course as soon as you get past the merchandise it's a LOT of wisterias, and an ice cream spot!
The park is large and has lots of flowers to look around! Here are some of the photos!
I mainly went there for the wisteria, but when I was there, some of their sakuras are also in full bloom. Double the blessings, I'd say!
Some other tips:
1. If you are afraid of cold, bring a jacket! Temperatures for this season generally falls around 15~18 degree Celsius. I didn't need anything additional but many of the locals are actually wearing another layer of clothing so it's really up to your tolerance level.
2. If you're here, do consider getting some merchandises! Many of them are pretty and practical, such as bookmarks, decors, handkerchiefs, perfumes, and a lot more!
3. The first week of May is golden week so crowd is always there. Plan wisely if you are visiting during this period!
