A Hydrangea Flower Valley - Minamisawa Ajisai Mountain

 

Spring or autumn is undoubtedly the most beautiful time to visit Japan, but even in this short rainy season, there are many places to visit. One of them is Minamisawa Ajisai mountain in Akiruno City. More than ten thousand hydrangea flowers can be seen on this hillside at this time of the year. Being so close to Tokyo, it is hard to ignore this flower valley in the heart of a mountain village.

Let’s start from the beginning

Do you know that this valley of flowers is man-made? 

This Minamisawa Mt. Ajisai is owned by Mr. Chuichi Minamisawa who lived there for almost fifty-year and one day planted 20 seedlings of hydrangea on the sides of the road to his parents' grave. That's when it started. From then on, he is planting and maintaining those plants every year, which has increased to about 10,000 today.

 It can be said that due to the perseverance and efforts of a single person, such an outstanding valley of flowers have been created in the lap of a mountain. But now many more people have joined in with this good work of his and many nature lovers come here every year to see this flower.

Now How to go?

Trains to Musashi-Itsukaichi Station are easily accessible from Tokyo. It is possible to get here by taking the Chuo Line train from Shinjuku (buy JRPass). It will take about 1 to 1.5 hours to reach that station.

There is a 40-minute walk from the station. However, a shuttle bus can be taken from the station or a cab can be hired.

*But the shuttle bus is not running for the coronavirus now

What to see

The forty-minute walk from the station is rich with natural beauty, as you approach the Ajisai mountain, you will see colorful hydrangea flowers on both sides of the road.

Roadside Ajisai

Wooden Dwarfs

And yes, don't worry, there’s no way to get lost because some distance away suddenly small wooden dwarfs will pop up as a sign of the right direction.

When you finally reach the right place, the entrance pathway will be the first thing that will force you to stop for a few moments. Beautiful bunches of hydrangeas bloomed from the trees on both sides of the road and seemed to welcome their visitors. 

Entrance of Mt. Ajisai

Then, just a few steps further, you will see that blue flower, like the stars that bloom in clusters all over the base of the tall cedar tree. Although Hydrangea is a wild mountain flower, still it is hard to find such a beautiful flower valley in mountains.

Ajisai Mountain

Although there are different types of hydrangeas are visible here, but the most common are blue "dance party" and "Sumida fireworks".

Also, a short hike in the mountains can be done. A beautiful view of the valley can be found by climbing up the mountain trail. At this time, on the one hand, the arrival of new leaves on the tree as well as the rainy season, all in all, this is a great time to see the refreshingly beautiful green color of the mountains.

Cider forest

So what could be better than this for a weekend trip!

So, let's find out what is the best time to go here! Flowers are usually seen here from mid-June to mid-July. But still, I would highly recommend checking their official website before planning to go to know the flowering condition.

Opening Hours: 8:00-17:00

Entrance fee: For Child 300 yen & Adult 500 yen

To know more about this place you can watch our vlog too.