The tunnel of Purple – Kawachi wisteria garden, Fukuoka
Japan is most famously known for its beautiful trees of pink and white Sakura, Sakura marks the beginning of spring in Japan and is often nostalgic to many. During this season third year high school students graduate and move into further education or work, they often say goodbye to the people who they have spent the last three years with and move into the unknown of life after school. Sakura covered pathways are often symbolic within anime too usually as the end or start of something new. Across the country Sakura is not only admired but also becomes the flavour of the season literally. Sakura flavoured foods and drinks erupt onto the market and are highly popular. But Japan is a country of many seasons and flowers and there is another flower which deserves a mention on todays blog. Wisteria.
Known in Japanese as “Fuji “the flower is associated with longevity, romance, good fortune and is often used to show enduring romance and friendships. Wisteria comes in a variety of colours and species but the most iconic is the deep purple coloured variety. Wisteria grows differently from most other flowers, favouring high places. They grow high up and the flowers hang down creating a beautiful cascading effect. In Japan they can be seen from Late April until around early May depending on location, temperature and weather. Wisteria is very temperamental and a slight hot day can speed up the flowering process.
In Japan there are numerous locations where visitors can enjoy wisteria, there is a wisteria arch in one of my schools and at Karatsu castle there is a beautiful wisteria tunnel. But the most famous in Kyushu will be the location I focus on today. Often ranked among the top 35 beautiful gardens of Japan, Kawachi wisteria garden is located close to Kitakyushu in Fukuoka prefecture. It is about an hours drive from Hakata and must be noted is not easily accessible to those reliant on public transport. There is a cable car option, but the walk is nearly an hour. For my trip I coughed up for two taxies to get to and from the gardens. There are some tour companies who operate trips to the gardens, but they sell out very fast. To visit the garden, you will need to prebook ahead. To limit the people and chances of damage to the flowers the garden operates on a timeslot system. It is only open for a brief period for the wisteria, and your entrance fee is dependent on how in bloom the flowers are.
This year the peak bloom was during golden week so sadly I was unable to see the flowers at their best, I visited a little early for blooms but there were some flowers from the white variety blooming during my visit. The road to the gardens is beautiful it travels up into the mountains passing beautiful woodlands, there is a manmade lake and the area where the garden is located is very peaceful. There are vending machines at the gardens but there is not much of anything else. The garden is a one-way system to keep people moving. Different colours and varieties of wisteria are grown and there are over 20 kinds growing within the garden. During the autumn season the garden reopens for the sea of red leaves that surround the area.
Whilst I was very sad that I went far too early I was able to imagine how it would look as a sea of hanging purples and whites. The garden is certainly beautiful but for those without a car or unable to book a tour I would still recommend other locations which are more accessible but not as impressive. The tunnel at the Kawachi garden is the longest wisteria tunnel in Japan and its stunning but for the cost and the length of time it takes to get up the mountain, I ended up staying about half an hour. Even in bloom my visit would have been an hour at the most.
Japan’s wisteria is beautiful and during my travels I even spied some growing very high in trees up in the mountains. Japan’s flowers are iconic and wisteria, Sakura are still just a few of the amazing flowers which grow and create seas of colour across the countryside. There are also Tulips, Azaleas, the red spider lilies, red sea grasses and more. Japan becomes a sea of colour during different seasons and never fails to inspire those who stop to enjoy it. When you are planning your trip to Japan have a check to see what flowers will be in bloom and treat yourself to a beautiful sight.
