Getting to see the beautiful flowers in Japan is a wonderful experience, especially during spring and summer. If you are thinking of traveling to Japan, you may want to check out areas known for their Japanese gardens or even join a flower tour. These tours can include some of the most famous flowers in Japan, including the cherry blossoms.
So when and where can you see beautiful Japanese flowers? Follow along as we introduce what flowers bloom by month, where to find them, and even links to tours you can book.
Main image: PIXTA
Flowers of Japan: A special kind of culture
Flowers have a lot of meaning in this lovely country. Ikebana, or flower arranging, is one of the three classical Japanese arts of refinement. At the same time, rather surprisingly, Japan has a long history of tattooing, and Japanese flowers are a popular tattoo.
Meanwhile, there is no doubt that Japan is famous for sakura cherry blossoms, along with the whole concept of hanami (having a picnic and seeing cherry blossoms), so many tourists try to visit Japan to see them.
Clearly, there is something quite special and beautiful about Japanese flowers. It is perhaps an indicator of how deep flowering plants have penetrated the culture that visitors to Japan will want to visit a traditional Japanese garden, perhaps go to a flower park or festival, eat a sakura flavored KitKat or other sweet, and even sakura flavored sake.
Now that you know how important flowers are in Japan, you must be intrigued to know which flowers you can see in which season, but never fear, we have gathered all the information we could get to know exactly when which flowers are blooming!
Spring flowers in Japan
Whether you’re a first-time visitor to Japan or a seasoned traveler, you’ll want to visit during the spring flower season. In addition to cherry blossoms, there are many other attractive spring flowers to explore. From plum to wisteria, there are plenty of varieties to enjoy. You may also want to check out some of the popular flower festivals in Japan.
Ume (Plum)
Plum blossoms
Plum season in Japan: Late February – Early March
The first blossoming flower of spring is not actually cherry blossoms, but ume (plum) blossoms! So when Japanese plum trees start to flower, it is a large announcement that spring has arrived, and in many areas of Japan, there are ume festivals where local people admire the flowers.
Normally occurring in February and March, a couple of locations for seeing ume blossoms is:
・Kairakuen (Ibaraki Prefecture – Mito Station, JR Joban Line)
・Yushima Tenjin Sh…
