Hana no Miyako Park
The promise of Hana no Miyako Park is simple: fields of flowers under wide-open sky, with Mt. Fuji, 20 kilometers to the west, visible from any point on the grounds. From December through January, visitors can hope to see the famous “Diamond Fuji” view of the sun setting behind the mountain’s peak.
The park’s altitude is just under 1,000 meters, and the cooler climate means that flowers bloom about a month after those in nearby Tokyo. The first flowers of the year are tulips in late April. These are followed by nemophila, baby’s breath, poppies, sunflowers, and many more. A harvest festival is held in September, and autumn foliage can be admired from October to early November. In winter, the park is lit up each night by the Illumination Fantaseum event, which includes weekly fireworks displays.
The eastern corner of the park includes the all-season Floral Dome Furara greenhouse, a waterfall, and an underground chamber full of lava tree molds. These are cavities in the igneous rock beneath the park where trees were caught up in a lava flow. They were found during construction of the park and left in place for visitors to inspect firsthand.