Ashikaga Flower Park [Road trip in Japan #9]

I saw videos of Ashikaga Flower Park a long time ago and it has always been my dream to go there. Unfortunately, it’s quite far from Tokyo (a bit like Mount Fuji). Even with a train that stops right in front of the park entrance, the idea of spending 3 hours round trip on public transport doesn’t appeal to me much. So, I’m very happy to be able to go by car.

This travel diary is part of a series on our road trip in Japan. If you missed the previous episodes, here are the links: the itinerary, diary #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8

Part 1: Travel Journal
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Journal

Day 8 of the road trip (continued)

My parents have no idea where we’re headed today, and I absolutely don’t want to give any hints. It’s so “out of this world” that it’s indescribable anyway. Upon arrival, my parents see strawberry stalls and think that so many people are coming just to eat strawberries, hahaha.

Ashikaga Flower Park is open year-round and they try to have plants blooming at different times, but April-May remains the best season since the wisterias are in bloom.

They bloom about 2 weeks apart from the cherry blossoms (mid-April to mid-May), so if you come to Japan and miss the cherry blossoms, you can come here to console yourself. We’re here at the end of April, and the purple and pink wisterias are in bloom. The white ones are still closed.

What impresses the most are the centennial wisterias. They are supported by a metal structure. There are 5 or 6 in total. There’s a structure made of 2 trees that alone cover 1,000 square meters!!!

It’s absolutely incredible. A poster explains that this tree resembles the Tree of Souls in Avatar. The park can also be visited in the evening to enjoy the light effects. The work put into having such a park must be colossal! We can’t get over it!

The “smaller” wisteria trees are also very impressive. And it’s also the delicious scent of wisterias throughout the park that makes this place exceptional..

There aren’t many flower varieties right now, but we don’t care because the spectacle is grand. They have cool and totally photogenic structures, like a flower tunnel and a bridge covered in wisterias…

…or a rest walkway in the shade of wisterias <3

It’s a shame this tunnel, seen in hundreds of park videos, isn’t in full bloom yet. The white wisterias seem to bloom after the purple and pink ones.

But hey, this wisteria wall will satisfy even the most demanding. There’s a similar wall for white wisterias.

And then, you can always finish with wisteria ice cream.

Everyone is super impressed by the park. Even though I’ve seen the videos a hundred times, I’m still in shock. It’s so beautiful, it’s so big, you don’t know where to look, and my phone is full of flower pictures 😀

Compared to Keukenhof, my parents find this one more impressive because there are more varieties and scenes. I love both, but with a slight preference for this one because it smells divine. The park is so big that there are two entrances. We entered through the secondary gate because we were told to park nearby. JB bought tickets the day before because we were afraid they’d refuse us entry, but in the end it was fine. For a weekday, there are a lot of people, so imagine the weekend! Or Golden Week!!!

We follow the arrows to a strawberry farm. It’s the season. We don’t see any farmers, but there’s a vending machine. You insert money and select the box you’re interested in (the price changes depending on size and quantity). You can get a huge amount of strawberries for only 1000 yen. I recommend it; they’re fresh and sweet as they should be.

Last onsen for my parents, we booked a Route Inn hotel. It’s a hotel chain not far from the highways. The hotels are comfortable, well-equipped, and have a restaurant on the ground floor (it’s good even if it’s frozen). The water in this onsen is less potent than the one in Kusatsu and you can feel it (you feel less tired after the bath).

Day 9 of the road trip:

We head back to Tokyo, a bit sad because it’s the end. We fill up at a countryside gas station and are very surprised by the warm welcome from two station employees: while one fills up the tank, the other diligently cleans the windows, and when we leave, they signal our departure to other cars and wave goodbye with smiles. It warms the heart!

The drive takes longer than expected because it rains and as we approach Tokyo, there are more and more traffic jams, not to mention a mistake on our part (we missed an exit!). We arrive at Nihonbashi to park in a fully automated parking lot. It’s the first time we try this system. Too bad we don’t see the robots, but we park the car and the robots take care of the rest. We pick up our car in the same place, but with the car turned the right way. There’s still an employee who helps us get the ticket and scan it to retrieve the car.

We go shopping at Dairuma while waiting for hotel check-in (hotels don’t let you check in before 3 p.m.). My parents found things to buy at Hands. Hands remains my favorite store because it’s a concentration of ingenious Japanese products. Then, we leave my parents and the luggage at the hotel. The two of us have to return the car (the process is very smooth, by the way) and get back to the hotel by metro.

In the evening, we have dinner at an all-you-can-eat restaurant on the 12th floor of Dairuma, and that’s the end of our road trip!

The next day, I take my parents to the airport; they fly back to Vietnam. JB and I spend one more day in Tokyo beforeheading to Kansai.

Part 2: Practical Tips

The detailed itinerary of our road trip is available here

• Park entry: 2000yen/person
• Hotel Route Inn: 80€/room, onsen included, breakfast not included