How To Tokyo / Nature / Travel

Experience Japan’s Seasonal Flower Viewing As a Local!

- by Kazu. K

Each season has its own unique flowers. When it comes to viewing beautiful plants in Japan, you might instantly think about cherry blossoms, Hanami. Yes, I don’t argue with that, but actually there are more opportunities to appreciate seasonal flowers. Today, I’m going to share places where I visited. I also found a hidden gem of a nice beer stand. Let’s get started! 

1. What Is Japanese Iris?

*You can see the black plates in front of the flower lines. Each iris has a different name. 

Meet the Hanashobu (花菖蒲) – Japanese Iris

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t know that Iris was Hanashobu until I wrote this. Its scientific name is  Iris ensata. During the muggy rainy season, the big colorful purple, pink, blue, and white petals delight locals. In the Japanese flower language, they symbolize “elegance”, “kindness”, and “compassion.” Hanashobu is a broad category that has around five thousands kinds of flowers, and there are some plant lineages that come from the Edo era (1603-1868). Sadatomo Matsudaira (松平定朝), was a hatamoto (旗本) which means a high ranking samurai in the direct service of Tokugawa shogunate. He was not only a samurai but also an enthusiastic horticulturist. During that time, horticulture was getting popular for people. Samurai must not only practice martial arts but also they must learn tea ceremonies and horticulture as a form of mental training. This is because excellent samurai were meant to excel both physically and mentally. Also, common people started enjoying appreciating plants and flowers. So you can see many ukiyoe (浮世絵, traditional woodblock prints and paintings) featured flowers from that era. Plus, he was a one of a kind horticulturist and dedicated to creating new types of hanashobu by selective breeding. He invented more than 200 species of the flower and contributed to a big leap in this field. 

2. Horikiri Iris Gaden-Where Edo Lives On

*Horikiri has been a famous place for hanashobu since the Edo era. Here is the only existing place where you can see rare once-upon-a-time Horikiri gardens. Many great ukiyone artists captured irises here. There are 200 kinds of Irises and in total 6,000 individual plants. You can learn a lot about Japanese irises there.

堀切菖蒲園
https://share.google/dwm0Tz8caOfx6vAAy

From the end of May to the middle of June, Katsushika city (葛飾区) holds Iris Festival (菖蒲祭り) at Horikiri Iris Gaden (堀切菖蒲園) and Minamoto Park (水元公園). They offer free shuttle buses to both venues on weekends.  

*From Horikiri Shobuen Station (堀切菖蒲園駅), Keisei line to Horikiri Shobuen (堀切菖蒲園), there are signs painted well-known ukiyoe on the narrow street. Also it is located in a residential area. You can feel the cozy local atmosphere.

Iris Confusion 101

*Can you tell which is hanashobu (花菖蒲), Ayame(あやめ), and kakitsubata (燕子花)? Actually it’s hard to tell. They all look almost the same. The difference is not in the color. The only difference is the place where the flower is grown. Kakitsubata grows in wetlands, while Ayame grows in dry sunny grasslands and fields with good drainage. Hanashobu can adapt to both conditions. It’s going to be more complicated isn’t it? It doesn’t matter which flower is the one today. Just enjoy it.

Horikiri Mizube Park (堀切水辺公園)

*It takes around 15 minutes by foot from Horikiri Shobuen. It’s located along the Arakawa river (荒川).

*Local volunteers plant around 800  Hanashobu flowers. You can see the beautiful flowers against the Tokyo Sky Tree.

堀切水辺公園
https://maps.app.goo.gl/jdazKv6qVBkaA3rZ9?g_st=ic

Let’s go back to the narrow street and go to Horikiri Shobuen Station (堀切菖蒲園駅). Then, we will take the Keisei Line and go to Ohanatyaya Station (お花茶屋). It’s only one stop, but I definitely recommend taking the train. The distance of the train stops is different from in the downtown areas. 

3. The First Sip Today!

*It takes around 10 minutes by foot from Ohanatyaya Station(お花茶屋駅) to Hikifunegawa Shinsui Park (曳舟川親水公園).

Well, speaking of Ohanatyaya Station (お花茶屋駅), it was named after a girl who helped the 8th Shogun, Yoshimune Tokugawa. When the shogun went hunting, he got sick and went to a tea cafe (tyaya, 茶屋) to rest. Thanks to her dedicated help, he got better. Her name was Hana (花), and the Shogun allowed her family’s cafe put her name on it. Unlike the hustle and bustle of the downtown area, you can chill and relax here. At Hikifunegawa Shinsui Park (曳舟川親水公園), locals volunteer plant Hanashobu along the park side. Also, there are street vendors in the park. 

曳舟川親水公園
https://share.google/5dp1sKor63JLFdG1J

*Kichi Brewing is located in Katsushika City. After the owner traveled a lot, he became fascinated by craft beers. Then he decided to open his brewery here. Today there was a pop-up store in the park. I enjoyed two beers. One was an American IPA, which has a fruity flavors with hops. Another was Belgian style. Under the clear sky, it doesn’t get much  better than drinking while watching beautiful flowers. Aside from beers, there are other things like traditional Japanese steamed rice, fresh brewed coffee, Japanese curry, and you name it.

I’d like to visit their brewery next time!

Kichi Brewing (きちブルーイング)
https://www.instagram.com/kichibrewing?igsh=b2pxeXdnN3RueW12

After enjoying beer, you’re going to take free shuttle bus to Mizumoto Park (水元公園) from Hikifunegawa Shinsui Park.

4. Mizumoto Park  One of The Must Visit Places 

*Can you imagine that you’re in Tokyo? Mizumoto Park is one of the biggest parks in Tokyo. During this season, there are 200,000 irises there. You might want to visit here during other seasons. You can find awesome plants like cherry blossoms. They also offer camping sites, barbecue sites, dog runs, and locals enjoy their own free time. You definitely forget that you are in Tokyo.

Mizumoto Park (水元公園)
https://honyaku.j-server.com/LUCTMPA/ns/tl.cgi/https://www.tokyo-park.or.jp/park/mizumoto/index.html?SLANG=ja&TLANG=en&XMODE=0&XJSID=0

Well, it’s time to sip the next beer, let’s go! We’re going to Kanamach Station (金町駅) from Mizumoto Park by free shuttle. And then, we take the Keisei Line to Keisei Tateishi Station (京成立石駅).

5. Craft Beer and Soccer Town

*This beer stand is tucked away in busy streets. The black beer sign welcomes you.

The beer stand, KARAFA, is located closed to Keisei Tateishi Station (京成立石駅). It’s not big but it’s a really cozy space. It’s only 12 seats. What makes this special is stout beer. They always have three stout beers on tap. It’s a crazy idea that they always have three stouts on tap in a shop of this scale, right? I don’t think stout beer is so popular in Japan, so it has a risk in running business. According to a local newspaper, he wants to deliver the amazing taste of stout beer to many people. When he worked at beer restaurants as a part-time job in university, he decided to own his beer stand sometime. After graduating, he worked at a brewery to learn how to make beer for a while. Then the rest is history.  I really admire the young guy who is the owner of this stand. When you visit Keisei Tateishi, this is a must-go place.

*It goes without saying that the stout beers are must-trys, and also the food menu is really good. There is a lot of stuff that beer geeks like such as vintage bottles or cans of beer and the packages. They can sell rare beers that the owner curated. I had a blast with him talking about rare beer, and I bought a 350 ml can of beer for JPY 4,000. He might be a good sales person.
Well, it’s time to leave before my wife gets upset.

KARAFA 
https://www.instagram.com/karafa_beer?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

*This is main character of キャプテン翼 (Captain Tsubasa), his name is Tsubasa Ozora. This is a famous cartoon, and many kids were influenced by it. They got into soccer because of the cartoon and started playing it. The author, Yoichi Takahashi, was born and raised in Tateishi, and the location was the setting for the anime. So, the fans want to visit here. This monument captures the moment of heel kick when Tsubasa was in elementary school. It was a famous scene from the cartoon. Aside from this monument, there are many monuments here and there in Tateishi. If you are interested in this anime, it’s a lot of fun to come here and spot them!

Let’s find all the characters! 
https://www.gotokyo.org/book/actibook/AO_2601_captain-tubasa_EN/?detailFlg=0&pNo=1

To conclude 

How was that? Cherry blossoms aren’t the only seasonal flowers you can view in Japan. Each season has its own charm. You would be surprised how Japanese people have taken care of hanashobu for hundreds of years. Even in this muggy rainy season, these beautiful flowers make you feel delightful. Plus, it’s really fun to hop between local breweries. If you’re a frequent traveler to Japan, you might want to explore something local. Thanks for taking your time to read my article to the end. See you next time!

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