JOURNAL ・ FIELD NOTES

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

In Tachikawa, Tokyo, there is a season when a single band of pale blue runs along the edge of a wide, open meadow. It is nemophila. This is no whole hillside dyed in colour. And yet, to find so soft a blue lane drawn through the middle of the city is enough to stop you in your tracks. It was the colour of the sky, as if it had come down and settled on the ground.

The Sky, Spilled into a Ribbon of Blue

Crouch close, and you notice how small each flower is. Five petals, traced with faint blue lines, a pale white centre. A single bloom would be almost too slight to see; only when tens of thousands gather do they become a ribbon of blue. When the wind crosses the field, the ribbon leans all at once, then rights itself. In that breathing sway, the blue lane seems by turns to deepen and to fade. Lowering the lens until it almost touches the ground, I brought my eye level with the flowers, and the blue ran on unbroken all the way to the sky beyond.

A Pale Blue Beside the Primary Colours

Lift your head a little, and within the same spring you may find the red and yellow of tulips lined up nearby, with cherry blossom still lingering overhead. The bold brilliance of primary colours and the pale blue of nemophila sit side by side within a single park — a generous pairing that only a city park can offer. I spend my working hours in the emergency room, chased by the clock, in a string of moments that leave no room to tell one colour from another. Perhaps that is why, standing before this blue, I feel time begin to loosen. The flowers are in no hurry. They bloom only as much as spring allows, answering the wind, and in their quiet my own breathing slowly falls into step.

Along the meadow's edge, the colour of the sky spills over.
With every gust, the blue lane deepens.

Planning your visit — season

Here the nemophila — some two hundred thousand of them — are planted in the west flower field of the great central meadow.

They are usually at their best from around the middle to the end of April, and in some years can be enjoyed into mid-May; but blooming depends on the weather, so please check the park's official flowering information for the latest. Around the same time, tulips colour the stream plaza and the tulip garden, and cherry blossom brightens spots throughout the grounds. Admission is charged — roughly 450 yen for adults (please confirm the current rate officially). To walk the pale blue ribbon in peace, a weekday morning, when the crowds are thinner, is the quietest hour.

Getting there

The nearest station is Nishi-Tachikawa on the JR Ome Line. The Nishi-Tachikawa Gate, just outside the ticket barrier, is the entrance closest to the meadow's flower fields, only a few minutes' walk from the platform. You can also walk from Tachikawa Station, but if the nemophila are your aim, entering from Nishi-Tachikawa is the shorter way. By car, the Nishi-Tachikawa car park is nearest to the fields; it fills quickly on weekends in season, so arriving near opening time is wise.

Tips for photographers

A single nemophila is tiny; only in numbers do the flowers become a band of blue. Begin by lowering your lens to just above the ground. Bringing your eye level with the blooms lets the blue flow away into the distance, so the lane reads long and deep. The colours are clearest in front light, but with the soft, slanting light of afternoon behind them, there are moments when the petals turn translucent and the blue seems to glow. On a breezy day, you might let the sway blur a little rather than freeze it. Slip a tulip or a branch of cherry quietly into the edge of the frame, and a single image tells, softly, that this is a city park in spring.

While you're in the area

Showa Kinen Park is vast, with more to see than a single day can hold. Walk on from the nemophila meadow and you will find a Japanese garden that changes with the seasons, and a stream plaza glittering with water. At the height of spring the whole park is wrapped in the colours of its flower festival. When your feet grow tired, a nemophila-blue soft-serve makes a fitting rest, found only here. The town of Tachikawa is close by, so you can round off the day with a meal near the station on your way home.

🌸 A Blue Lane of Spring, in a Single Print

The path of nemophila crossing the meadow's edge, delivered as a silver-halide print on FUJICOLOR's finest photographic paper. A piece made to grace a frame, shipped worldwide.

View the print →