Kochia – Hitachi Seaside Park, Japan (photo: shin–k/flickr)
Hitachi Seaside Park, located in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, next to the Ajigaura Beach, is popular tourist destination for flower lovers. The park covers an area of 8 acres and the flowers are amazing all year round. Every autumn thousands of Kochia bushes turn a beautiful crimson colour on Miharashi no oka “lookout hill” inside the Hitachi Seaside Park in Japan.
Hitachi Seaside Park, Japan (photo: shin–k/flickr)
Kochia are a type of large herb that grows in brushes about 90 centimeters tall. During the year they are green and then in late September their color starts to shift, tinged with red.
Hitachi Seaside Park flowers (photo: kobaken (こばけん)/flickr)
This colour display is beautiful, a must-see for anyone travelling to Japan in September through October. During the Kochia Carnival visitors can experience the park’s unique fall colors and walk amongst 36,000 red Kochia bushes and millions of cosmos flowers which Hitachi Seaside Park is also known for. The cosmos is a flower which blooms at around the same time as the kochia turns scarlet. Cosmos come in a variety of colors, with those around the park’s hill being pink, white, and red.
Cosmos – Hitachi Seaside Park, Japan ( photo: shin–k/flickr)
There are so many things to do in Hitachi Seaside park. Since it is so big, people rent bicycles or get on a train called the Seaside Train, which goes around the park. There is a road through the park that takes in the many gardens with different flowers, and there is also an amusement park.
Hitachi Seaside Park entertainment rides (photo: bvalium/flickr)
The nearest train station is Katsuta Station (勝田駅), from which the park’s entrance can be reached in 25 minutes by bus. For visitors coming from the Tokyo area, there are also direct buses from Asakusa and Ueno Stations, which go to the entrance at Kaihin Kouen Iriguchi (海浜公園入口) bus stop.
Hitachi Seaside Park opens daily at 9:30 a.m., with closing times ranging from 4:30 to 6 p.m., depending on the season. For the months of September and October Hitachi Seaside Park will be open until 5 p.m.
Admission: Adults 400 yen, children 80 yen, children under 6 free.
