Hitachi Seaside Park (Miharashi Hill Nemophila & Crimson Kochia)

Category: Spectacular Floral Hill & Pacific Ocean Park | Location: 605-4 Onuma-aza Mawatari, Hitachinaka, Ibaraki 312-0012 (JR Katsuta Station)

Spanning an expansive 350 hectares (with 215 hectares developed for public enjoyment) along Ibaraki’s Pacific coastline in Hitachinaka, Hitachi Seaside Park was transformed from a former military airfield into one of the globe’s most celebrated botanical landscapes. Inscribed on CNN’s "Japan’s 31 Most Beautiful Places," the park presents seasonal panoramic transformations on a scale unmatched elsewhere in Asia. The global sensation unfolds each spring from mid-April through early May across Miharashi Hill ("Lookout Hill"). Approximately 5.3 million translucent baby-blue Nemophila ("Baby Blue Eyes") blossoms erupt simultaneously across 4.2 hectares of rolling slopes. Standing at the 58-meter summit, the ethereal azure flower carpet seamlessly dissolves into the cloudless blue sky and the sparkling Pacific surf in an unbroken symphony of blue. In autumn from late September through mid-October, the very same hills are blanketed by 33,000 fluffy spherical Kochia bushes (summer cypress), turning gradually from lime-green into an incendiary sea of deep crimson red. Visitors can navigate the park via 11 kilometers of dedicated cycling paths on rental bikes, ride the charming open-sided Seaside Train, or ascend the giant Ferris wheel. Reached in 75 minutes from Tokyo/Ueno Station via the JR Joban Limited Express to Katsuta Station, followed by a 15-minute connecting bus.