Field Notes

FIELD NOTES

Sky Poppies of Chichibu — 12 Million Blooms on a Mountain Ridge

At around 500m on Chichibu Highland Ranch, roughly 12 million poppies bloom for just a few weeks each early summer. The scene, the craft, and how to visit.

📍 Chichibu, Saitama

FIELD NOTES

Diamond Tsukuba — 2 Million Poppies & a Sunrise on the Summit

At Kokaigawa Park in Ibaraki, about 2 million poppies bloom while, for a few mornings a year, the sun rises right on Mt. Tsukuba's summit. Season, access and tips.

📍 Kokaigawa, Ibaraki

FIELD NOTES

A Forest of Lupines — 40,000 Flower Spires in the Komorebi Field

At Musashi Kyuryo National Park in Saitama, about 40,000 pastel lupines bloom in dappled forest light each late spring. Season, access and tips.

📍 Musashi Kyuryo, Saitama

FIELD NOTES

Cherry Blossoms of Mount Yoshino — A Thousand Trees at a Glance

Some 30,000 cherry trees climb Mount Yoshino in Nara, a World Heritage site — the famed "hitome-senbon." Season, access and tips.

📍 Mount Yoshino, Nara

FIELD NOTES

Kawazu Cherry Blossoms — An Early Spring Along the River

Deep-pink early cherries and golden rape flowers along the Kawazu River in Izu, Shizuoka. Season, festival and access.

📍 Kawazu River, Shizuoka

FIELD NOTES

Autumn at Tofuku-ji — A Sea of Brocade from Tsutenkyo Bridge

A valley of maples seen from the Tsutenkyo Bridge in Kyoto, framed by old wooden lattice. Season, admission and access.

📍 Tofuku-ji, Kyoto

FIELD NOTES

Mt. Fuji & Autumn Maples at Lake Kawaguchi — The Maple Corridor

Crimson maples and Mt. Fuji across the lake, including the century-old Maple Corridor. Season, festival and access.

📍 Lake Kawaguchi, Yamanashi

FIELD NOTES

The Nemophila Hill — A Sky-Blue Sea at Hitachi Seaside Park

Some 5.3 million sky-blue nemophila merge with the sky on Miharashi Hill, Ibaraki. Season, admission and access.

📍 Hitachi Seaside Park, Ibaraki

FIELD NOTES

Nanjamonja — Niiza's White Miracle, by Day and by Night

Somewhere in Niiza, Saitama stands a little-known, strikingly powerful nanjamonja (Hitotsubatago) — white against blue sky by day, floating in the dark by night. The exact spot is kept secret. The scene, the season, and a hint.

📍 Niiza, Saitama

FIELD NOTES

Sunrise over the Atami Cherry — The First Blossom of Spring

Along the Itokawa promenade in Atami, the atami-zakura is said to be Japan's earliest cherry. An award-winning frame at sunrise. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Atami, Shizuoka

FIELD NOTES

Red and White Plum at Kairakuen ― Early Spring in One of Japan's Great Gardens

At Kairakuen in Mito — one of Japan's three great gardens — around 3,000 plum trees bloom red and white in early spring. The scene, the festival, and how to visit.

📍 Mito, Ibaraki

FIELD NOTES

The Ushijiro Mizume Cherry ― One Tree, Three Hundred Springs

A single 300-year-old cherry stands alone in the tea fields of Kawane, Shizuoka, wrapped in morning mist. The scene, the craft, and how to visit.

📍 Kawane, Shizuoka

FIELD NOTES

The Hydrangeas of Meigetsuin ― A Blue That Deepens in the Rain

At Meigetsuin in Kita-Kamakura, some 2,500 himeajisai wash the grounds in 'Meigetsuin Blue' through the June rains. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Kita-Kamakura, Kanagawa

FIELD NOTES

Lotuses at Shinobazu Pond — a summer dawn in the heart of Tokyo

Shinobazu Pond in Ueno fills with pale-pink lotus on summer mornings, ringed by city towers. The scene, the early hours, and how to visit.

📍 Ueno, Tokyo

FIELD NOTES

Autumn at Korankei ― The Crimson of the Tomoe River

Korankei in Aichi, where some 4,000 maples fill the valley around the vermilion Taigetsu Bridge — Tokai's finest autumn. The scene, the festival, and how to visit.

📍 Asuke, Aichi

FIELD NOTES

The Reflected Maples of Rurikoin — Autumn, Mirrored on Black Lacquer

At Rurikoin in Yase, Kyoto, autumn maples are mirrored on a polished black desk — the tsukue-momiji, open only in the special viewings. The scene and how to visit.

📍 Yase, Kyoto

FIELD NOTES

The Misotsuchi Icicles ― A Chichibu Winter, Frozen on the Riverbank

On the banks of the Arakawa in Okuchichibu, spring water freezes into a wall of natural icicles. The scene, the light-up, and how to visit.

📍 Okuchichibu, Saitama

FIELD NOTES

The Daffodils of Kyonan — White Lamps in the Heart of Winter

White Japanese daffodils blanket the winter hills of Kyonan, Chiba — one of Japan's three great daffodil grounds. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Kyonan, Chiba

FIELD NOTES

Night Cherry Blossoms at Chidorigafuchi ― Blossoms Lit Above a Rainy Moat

At Chidorigafuchi by the Imperial Palace moat, lit cherry blossoms mirror in the dark water on a rainy night — one of Tokyo's great night-sakura spots. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Chidorigafuchi, Tokyo

FIELD NOTES

Autumn in Okunikko — From Akechidaira to Senjogahara, a Highland Tapestry

Autumn in Okunikko, Tochigi — Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls from Akechidaira, the sunset ridges of Mount Hangetsu, and the golden marsh of Senjogahara. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Okunikko, Tochigi

FIELD NOTES

Akeno Sunflowers — A Summer Below Yatsugatake and the Southern Alps

On a sun-blessed highland in Akeno, Yamanashi, hundreds of thousands of sunflowers turn to the sun before Yatsugatake and the Southern Alps. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Akeno, Yamanashi

FIELD NOTES

A Forest of Red Spider Lilies ― Autumn Fire on the Woodland Floor

At Murakami Green Space in Yachiyo, Chiba, some 240,000 red spider lilies set the woodland floor ablaze in the dappled autumn light. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Yachiyo, Chiba

FIELD NOTES

Ueno Toshogu Peony Garden ― Four Seasons of Flowers Beside a City Shrine

At the Ueno Toshogu Peony Garden, winter peonies glow under straw cloches beside a golden shrine, with spring peonies and New Year daffodils to follow. The scene, the seasons, and how to visit.

📍 Ueno, Tokyo

FIELD NOTES

The Cliffs of Tojinbo ― Columns of Stone Carved by the Sea of Japan

At Tojinbo in Fukui, columnar cliffs some 25 metres high, carved by the Sea of Japan, glow at sunset and brace against winter waves. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Tojinbo, Fukui

FIELD NOTES

Chiba's Sunset Coast — Chasing the Sun into Tokyo Bay

A tour of sunset spots along Chiba's Tokyo Bay coast — Haraoka Pier and Fuji, Cape Futtsu, Makuhari Beach, and Inage Seaside Park, finest on clear winter evenings. The scene and how to visit.

📍 Tokyo Bay coast, Chiba

FIELD NOTES

Hananomiyako Park — An Autumn Flower Field Before Mount Fuji

At Hananomiyako Park by Lake Yamanaka, golden cosmos and red buckwheat bloom before Mount Fuji, glowing together at dawn. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Lake Yamanaka, Yamanashi

FIELD NOTES

Cosmos at Showa Kinen Park ― The Autumn Magic That Floods the Flower Hill

On the Flower Hill at Showa Kinen Park in Tachikawa, millions of golden cosmos shift from summer lemon to autumn sunset. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Tachikawa, Tokyo

FIELD NOTES

The Weeping Cherry of Rikugien ― A Waterfall Falling Through the Spring Night

At Rikugien, a historic garden in Bunkyo, Tokyo, a 15-metre weeping cherry becomes a pale-pink waterfall, lit against the dark in the spring night viewings. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Bunkyo, Tokyo

FIELD NOTES

The Pagoda of Toji — A Crescent Moon over Japan's Tallest Tower

Toji's five-storey pagoda in Kyoto — a crescent-moon silhouette at dusk, and a reflection floating among illuminated maples by night. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Toji, Kyoto

FIELD NOTES

The Round Window of Yusaitei ― Autumn Maples Framed in a Circle, Mirrored on Black

At Yusaitei in Arashiyama, a round window frames the autumn maples and a black table mirrors them like still water. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Arashiyama, Kyoto

FIELD NOTES

Mitarashi Pond ― A Clear Blue Spring in a Sanctuary of Moss

At Heisenji Hakusan Shrine in Katsuyama, Fukui, a sacred spring wells up in a sanctuary of moss and giant cedars. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Katsuyama, Fukui

FIELD NOTES

Floating Hydrangeas at Amabiki Kannon ― Blooms on the Water, Ducks at Play

At Amabiki Kannon in Sakuragawa, Ibaraki, colourful hydrangeas float on the basins and pond — the suichuka — while ducks drift among them. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Sakuragawa, Ibaraki

FIELD NOTES

Annabelle & Skytree ― White Hydrangeas in Early-Summer Tokyo

In Koto, Tokyo, pure-white Annabelle hydrangeas bloom in drifts with Tokyo Skytree rising beyond. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Koto, Tokyo

FIELD NOTES

Gyoko Street's Golden Avenue ― From Tokyo Station to the Palace, a Road of Gilded Ginkgo

On Gyoko Street in Marunouchi, four rows of ginkgo turn gold before the red-brick Tokyo Station in late autumn. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Marunouchi, Tokyo

FIELD NOTES

Cosmos at Hama-rikyu ― A Flower Field in an Edo Garden, Framed by Towers

At Hama-rikyu Gardens in central Tokyo, yellow and pink cosmos bloom in a former lord's garden, framed by the towers of Shiodome. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Hama-rikyu, Tokyo

FIELD NOTES

Kawazu Cherry Blossoms and Skytree ― An Early Spring, Three Rivers Deep

In February, deep-pink kawazu cherries bloom early by three rivers in Tokyo and Chiba — framing Tokyo Skytree, and meeting rape flowers in the country. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Tokyo and Chiba

FIELD NOTES

The Weeping Cherry of Joenji ― An Edo-higan Blooming at the Foot of the Skyscrapers

At Joenji in Nishi-Shinjuku, a weeping cherry — loved since Edo — spills pale-pink blossom like a waterfall at the foot of the skyscrapers. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo

FIELD NOTES

Ice Tulips ― A Spring of Ice in Midwinter

At Funabashi Andersen Park and Ueno Park, ordinary bulbs are chilled to bloom in the dead of winter — ice tulips, a flower field in the snowy season. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Funabashi & Ueno

FIELD NOTES

Zinnia Field ― A Rainbow of Blossoms over the Summer Hill

On the Miharashi Hill at Hitachi Seaside Park, famed for spring nemophila and autumn kochia, summer brings a rainbow of zinnias. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Hitachi Seaside Park, Ibaraki

FIELD NOTES

Momoiro Toiki ― A Summer Sigh Across the Hill

At Mother Farm in Futtsu, Chiba, a gentle hillside turns soft pink with some 20,000 Momoiro Toiki petunias above Tokyo Bay. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Mother Farm, Chiba

FIELD NOTES

The Framed Maples of Nanzen-in ― Autumn, Cut to Size by the Pillars of the Study Hall

At Nanzen-in, a subtemple of Kyoto's Nanzen-ji, the study hall's pillars frame the pond's mirrored maples like a painting. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Nanzen-in, Kyoto

FIELD NOTES

A Path of Nemophila ― A Blue Lane in Spring, Showa Kinen Park

At Showa Kinen Park in Tachikawa, Tokyo, pale-blue nemophila bloom in a ribbon along the great meadow, a blue lane of spring. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Showa Kinen Park, Tokyo

FIELD NOTES

Tokyo Tower from Marunouchi at Dusk ― An Amber Tower in the Canyon of Buildings

From the rooftop terraces of Marunouchi, Tokyo Tower stands in a canyon of high-rises, glowing amber as dusk turns to navy. The scene, the best time, and how to visit.

📍 Marunouchi, Tokyo

FIELD NOTES

Poppies and the Skytree at Hirai ― Orange Blooming in the Old Downtown at Dusk

At Hirai Sports Park in Edogawa, Tokyo, orange poppies glow on the Arakawa riverbed at dusk, with the Tokyo Skytree in silhouette beyond. The scene, the season, and how to visit.

📍 Hirai, Edogawa, Tokyo