Nabana no Sato - A one-of-a-kind feast for the senses!

Imagine an endless field full of flowers painting the land in swathes of bright red, yellow and white, the horizon fringed in clouds of cherry blossoms against a big blue sky. As dusk descends, paths lined among flowering trees illuminate the night. Is this reality or fantasy? Welcome to Nabana no Sato, the giant garden park in Mie Prefecture, each season delivering new delights including the spring Flower Festival, sparkling summer fireflies, fall foliage, and of course, the winter illuminations, which every year get better, bigger and brighter. Top it all off with a soak in an outdoor bath of volcanic hot springs followed by a cold glass of local craft beer, and it becomes clear that life doesn’t get much better than this paradise on earth.

Written by Ren Wong

The floral season opens in early February as plum trees, weeping plum trees and Kawazu cherry trees all blossom simultaneously until late March, their pale pink petals lit up at night, swaying gently over the walking paths. But this is mere prologue to the Flower Festival from late March to mid-April as myriads of tulips open in bold colors, carpeting one of the largest gardens nationwide, “Hana Hiroba.” This radiant brilliance gives way to the subdued burgundy beauty of autumn Japanese maples, exquisitely reflected in the Kagami-ike (Mirror Pond). Fall also brings lovely dahlias and cosmoses as well as the blooming of 5,000 roses from 900 species in the Rose Garden, whose flowering brackets the year in both spring and autumn.

The shining star of the annual line up, however, is the electric effervescence of one of Japan’s largest winter illuminations. From far and wide, people come to stroll through the 200-meter long “Tunnel of Light” and emerge into the “Cloud Sea of Light” – a glittering ocean of LEDs that suffuse the whole of the garden. Afterwards, follow the path of lights reflected over streams of water in “Hikari no Taiga” (Great River of Light) before finally reaching the main attraction, the immense, immersive, otherworldly Panorama of Illuminations. As the park is dotted with many illuminations, they can be viewed up close, from the park café, or from Island Fuji, the giant rotating observatory that rises 45 meters above the ground.

Regardless of season or weather, perennial attractions aplenty are also here to brighten your day. Roughly 12,000 breathtaking blooms are on display all year at the “Begonia Garden,” a complex of four massive greenhouses where state-of-the-art climate control systems allow for a diverse array of begonias and other species from around the world to thrive. To wander through this 9,000 square meter space is to step into a painting, especially at the “Mikaeri no Ike” (Reflection Pond) dotted in floating flowers fit for Monet’s brushstroke.

Finally, beyond the flowers, choose from a wide array of dining options, whether full course kaiseki dinners or more casual fare of pizza and sandwiches. Afterwards, head to the spa within the park, Sato no Yu, and sink into the spacious outdoor bath flowing with natural hot spring waters surrounded by a Japanese garden. Emerging from the bath, cool down with your choice of a cold local craft brew at the Nagashima Beer Garden or a to-go soft-serve ice cream in season.

A Japanese saying, “hana wo soeru,” or "add a flower," means to add beauty to something already beautiful. Whatever your pleasure or taste, you’re sure to find oodles of added beauty here at Nabana no Sato where beauty upon beauty is added in layers of sensory delight for an overwhelmingly pleasurable experience.

[Access]

Nabanano Sato

270 Urushibata, Komae, Nagashima-cho, Kuwana City

By car

Isewangan Expressway → Wangan Nagashima IC → 15 minutes by car

By direct shuttle bus

30 minutes from Meitetsu Bus Center (JR Nagoya Sta., Kintetsu Nagoya Sta.) or 20 minutes from Kintetsu Kuwana Station Bus stop

*Prices subject to change, so please check the homepage beforehand.

Phone number: 0594-41-0787 (Nabana no Sato)

Official URL: https://www.nagashima-onsen.co.jp/