Showa Kinen Park – Page 2

Sakura 2016: Showa Kinen Park

Visit Date: 03/31/2016 (Best Time: early to mid April)

Showa Kinen Park is located at the western suburbs of Tokyo, just about 60 minutes away from Tokyo station. The 163 hectares park located in Tachikawa used to be a Japanese military airbase and part of the airfield was established as a national park in 1983 as part of a project to commemorate the emperor’s Golden Jubilee.

The park has about 1,500 cherry trees located in 2 areas: one is in the Flower Tree Garden which is located to the east of Waterfowl Lake near the Nishi-Tachikawa Gate and the other is to the west of “Open Field”. The latter is the best spot for hanami parties.

The cherry trees create a wonderful canopy conducive for picnic and other activities.

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Autumn 2015: Showa Kinen Park

Visit Date: 10/09/2015 (Best viewing Time: early November to early December)

The Showa Memorial Park 昭和記念公園 located in Tachikawa, which is about 60 minutes from Tokyo Station, is a massive park that is very popular in spring and autumn. The park has gorgeous flowers particularly sakura (cherry flower), tulips, and poppies in spring and vibrant fall colors.

As of today, the park has already started to show autumn colors, although still at the very early stage. The cherry trees have turned orange while some of the maple trees are starting to turn orange and the ginkgo trees are already showing some yellow.

Showakinen_2015-10-09_01 Cherry trees along the dry canal.

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Sakura 2015: Showa Kinen Park

Visit Date: 04/05/2015 (Best Time: early to mid April)

Showa Kinen Park which is just about 60-minutes away from central Tokyo is indeed one of the best hanami spot with its 1,500 cherry trees and spacious lawns. The cherry trees in the park bloom a few days later than central Tokyo too, so it was at its peak during our visit.

Due to the ‘cloudy with some rain’ weather forecast, there were not much people picnicking in the Cherry Blossom Garden during our visit and we have plenty of space to choose from.

People picnicking and having fun around the clusters of cherry trees.

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Autumn 2014: A walk around Showa Kinen Park

Visit Date: 11/17/2014 (Best viewing Time: early November to early December)

Showakinen Park (officially known as Showa Commemorative National Government Park 国営昭和記念公園) is located in Tachikawa, which is only a little over 30 minutes by train from Shinjuku station. With its about 163 hectares land area, the park includes sport fields, barbecue pits, a boating pond, pools, and different magnificent gardens that blooms at various time throughout the year.

Visitors to the park can choose to get off from several stations and we chose the Nishi-Tachikawa station as it is only less than five minutes walk to the entrance gate.

The koyo season around the park usually tends to begin earlier than most of the Tokyo parks, which starts around late October and peak either mid or late November. The colors in this entrance however is still very green, only few trees have changed color.

Maple tree with orange, green, and red leaves along the path to the park’s open field.

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Showa Kinen Park Flower Festival 2014: Tulips Fair

国営昭和記念公園 Kokuei Shōwa Kinen Kōen is a 163 hectares park located in Tachikawa and is only over 30 minutes away from Shinjuku Station. The park is considered as a paradise for families as it offers a wide range of activities to choose from including flower viewing, visiting the different gardens, picnicking, or playing sports like frisbee and catch in the open field area. Children and even adults can also have fun in the playground which has giant trampoline, hammocks, slides, and swings. Facilities like pool, water playland, barbecue, bird sanctuary and restaurants are also available in the park. Other activities like biking, boating, and mini golf are also possible.

During the Spring, it is one of the best places to enjoy the season as it boasts a wide range of seasonal flowers. The best time to visit this park is between mid April to early May as it boasts a wide range of seasonal flowers and it is specially gorgeous when the tulips are in bloom.

Video Clip:

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