Come springtime, Tokyo is home to all kinds of colourful flora. If you’ve already had your fill of cherry blossoms, nemophila, wisteria and tulips, don’t stop there – the flowering season wouldn’t be complete without catching a few roses, too. This spring, the Keisei Rose Garden in Yachiyo, Chiba prefecture is turning its grounds into a rose-filled festival known as It’s So in Bloom.
The festival begins on April 23 and will run through to June 13 with a number of rose varieties blooming along the way. Home to 10,000 roses of 1,600 different varieties, the venue is run by one of the world's leading rose-breeding companies and is the largest rose garden in the entire Kanto region.
All the flowers are well manicured and displayed in unique ways using arches and pergolas. The best time to catch the roses is from mid-May to early June, when the majority of them are in full bloom.
During the spring festival, you can enjoy seven mini garden areas each featuring different colours and breeds of roses. One of the highlights of this season is the garden’s rose species known as Rose Nuvo.
Along with the flowers, there will be an exhibition featuring a large, iridescent egg-shaped art installation by Mirror Bowler. The artwork is still under construction (as seen above), but it will be placed at the Large Greenhouse when complete.
Aside from admiring all the colourful roses, you can also shop for rose-themed souvenirs including a special rose tea and rosehip milk candy made in collaboration with Sakuma Confectionery.
Over the Golden Week holiday period, the garden will also be hosting a market where you can browse through handmade goods by local vendors and join craft workshops.
Admission in April is ¥500 (free for junior high school students and younger), while entrance fees from May to June cost ¥1,500 (¥900 for seniors 65+, and free for junior high school students and younger). The garden is roughly an hour from central Tokyo by train, so it’s an easy day trip.
For more information, visit the official website.
More news
Take our Time Out Index survey and tell us what life is like in Tokyo
Gucci is opening a Massimo Bottura restaurant in its new Ginza flagship store
Ashikaga Flower Park’s famous wisteria are blooming early this year
First look: Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea will feature Frozen, Tangled and Peter Pan
Louis Vuitton has a free exhibition in Harajuku showing its most iconic designs
Want to be the first to know what’s cool in Tokyo? Sign up to our newsletter for the latest updates from Tokyo and Japan.