(Photo by Keiko Nomura)
The mainland of Japan has four seasons and for each season a new flower to look forward to. Sakura always reminds us of spring; hydrangea and iris give the would-be monotonic rainy season an elegant violet color; yellow sunflowers go with the hot and humid summer; and warm red cyclamen and cool white narcissus flowers bring a little color to the desolate winter.
Ringing in the end of summer and the start of fall brings many flowers and vibrant foliage. Now it’s higanbama, manjushage, or spider lilies as they’re known in English, turnt to bloom across Japan’s mainland. The bright crimson flowers remind us fall is upon us.
If you’re near Yokota Air Base, you’re in luck. Kinchakuda Park in Saitama Prefecture’s Hidaka City has about five million spider lilies at full bloom now. The park is surrounded by beautiful green forest and sits along the Koma River.
“The countless red spider lilies vibrant against the greenery made me feel as if I were dreaming away from the hustle and bustle city,” says Keiko Nomura, a native of Saitama Prefecture, who recently visited Kinchakuda Park for the first time in the last two years.
Enjoy the crimson beauties until mid-October. The park is only a short 45-minute drive away from Yokota AB, so get there soon!
Kinchakuda Spider-lily Park
