【Tokyo】“Showa Memorial Park,” A Year Round Treat2015.10.16

151016　昭和記念公園コスモス

“Showa Memorial Park,” was established in 1983 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Emperor of “Showa” era. It is located in the suburb of “Tachikawa” where people can reach about an hour by the train from Tokyo. The park comprises approximately 163 hectares and was built on land, used as a post war U.S. Army base, returned to Japan in 1977. The government now manages the large space and has developed the site as a public recreational park and as a contingency disaster staging area.

In spring, the park displays a vast array of colorful poppies, tulips and cherry blossoms and in autumn is rich in the colors of fall, a mix of maple reds and ginkgo yellows. The park has 200 type flowers and 400,000 tulip bulbs. The park is famous for the spring “Ohanami” (cherry-blossom viewing). In the fall, the cosmoses start coloring from the middle of September and changing grassland into the  flower bed into October. The cosmoses create pink, red, orange and yellow colorful flower carpets in couple places in this park.

You may plan to spend a half or full day exploring the expansive park space. It contains a variety of themed gardens, lakes, walking and cycling paths, restaurants, cafes and tea houses. There is an outdoor barbecue area for you to gather with buddies or family. For historians, the park has recreated a replica of a traditional Japanese folk village. The park is wheel chair friendly and has an in-park train for those who have walking difficulty.

You can explore the park year round. Many seasonal changes and the changing colors of its flowering fields are sure to mesmerize people.



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