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In Japan, there are a lot of different seasonal views for everyone to enjoy, and one of the main summer views would be the Sunflowers!🌻
A famous place to view sunflowers near Tokyo would be Zama city, Kanagawa prefecture (座間市, 神奈川県).
Located in the south west of Tokyo, Zama city is reachable within 1 hour from both Shinjuku station and Tokyo station.
During the Sunflower Festival, there will be special service buses running between Soubudaimae station (相武台前駅) and the sunflower field.
Depending on the locations, the blooming time would be slightly different, because they change the timing of planting so the sunflowers could be enjoyed longer 👍🏻
The Sunflower Festival at Zama city has two different locations, including Kurihara (栗原会場) and Zama (座間会場).
The blooming time for Kurihara is late July, with 100,000 flowers; and the sunflowers at Zama blooms during mid August, with 450,000 flowers!
Sunflower was chosen to be Zama city’s city flower in 1969, and in 1993, the city turned a ruined area into a beautiful Sunflower field by the young farmers of Zama city. And in 1994, it was chosen to be the top 100 places to enjoy flowers in Kanagawa prefecture.
The size of the Sunflower fields grow larger and larger each year and now the size of the Sunflower fields are more than 5.5ha big!!
You can find some cute spots other than sunflowers as well 🎃
They also have a place where you can climb up a bit to take a photo of the lovely sunflowers from above 🌻
There are also scissors for you to borrow and cut some flowers to bring home with you. The price is much nicer than buying from flower shops and you can also choose your favorite ones to bring with you 😃
Calling it the “Sunflower Festival” meaning that there are more than just flower viewing. There are many shops selling food and drinks and some flower / Zama city related products at the Sunflower filed.
You can enjoy some nice food while enjoying the lovely sunflowers 😋
Fried chicken wings
Japanese style fried noodles
Shaved ice!
There are lots of different choices at the food stands, you can also enjoy a nice icy beer in the hot weather 🍺
If you’re lucky, you may be able to see Zamarin (pronounced Zama-lin), the mascot of Zama city 😆
When visiting Tokyo in the summer, this would be a good choice for you to be away from the big city for a little~
You don’t have to go all the way to Hokkaido to see beautiful sunflowers 🌻
Visited 2016/08
Information for 2017 Sunflower Festival
- Address
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Kurihara (栗原会場) – 100,000 Sunflowers
- 〒252-0013 Kanagawa-ken, Zama-shi, Kurihara, 2487 (〒252-0013, ２４８７ 栗原, 座間市 神奈川県 252-0013)
Zama (座間会場) – 450,000 Sunflowers- Shindenjuku, Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture 252-0026 (〒252-0026 神奈川県座間市新田宿)
- Access
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Kurihara (栗原会場)
- Bus from Soubudaimae station (相武台前駅), Odakyu Odawara Line. Bus bound for Minami-Rinkan (南林間), alight at Zama Sogo Kouko-Mae (座間総合高校前)(about 12 minutes)
- Soubudaimae station (相武台前駅), Odakyu Odawara Line. 30 minutes on foot
Zama (座間会場)- Special service bus from Soubudaimae station (相武台前駅), 5 min walk to the Sunflower field from the bus stop
Bus fee: 200 JPY per person
- Bus from Zama station (座間駅), Odakyu Odawara Line. Bus bound for Yotsuya (四ツ谷), alight at Jinjya Mae (神社前). The Sunflower field is 10 min on foot from the bus stop.
- Opening hours
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Kurihara (栗原会場)
- 2017 July 21st (Friday) – 26th (Wednesday)
- 09:30 – 16:00 daily
Zama (座間会場)- 2017 August 10th (Thursday) – 15th (Tuesday)
- 09:30 – 16:00 daily
- Fees
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- Free to enter
- Flower cutting: price varies depending on the flower and number of flowers, but they are a lot cheaper than in flower shops
- Time needed
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- About 2 – 3 hours (Inuding taking pictures & enjoying the food stands)
- There are more activities such as pony riding on certain days, if you are interested, take a look at the dates and plan a longer visiting time
- Website
- Zama City (Japanese only)
- All Images: TabiScarp