Hitachi Seaside Park, located in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, next to the Ajigaura Beach, is a flower park and a popular tourist destination. The park covers an area of ​​3.5 hectares and the flowers are amazing all year round. Each season you will find a different variety of flower blossoming over the “Miharashi No Oka”, a hill commanding a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. The park is particularly famous for blue nemophilas. Nemophilas are annual flowers with transparent blue petals. During spring, more than 4.5 million blue nemophilas bloom all over the park. The blooming period is called “Nemophilia Harmony” and attracts many visitors.Thе Hitachi Seaside Park іѕ located іn Hitachinaka аnԁ іѕ јυѕt next tο thе Ajigaura Beach іn Japan. Hitachi Seaside Park іѕ аn extraordinary flower park аnԁ іѕ amongst thе mοѕt рοрυƖаr tourist destinations іn thе area. If уου аrе οn уουr honeymoon уου саn visit thіѕ park аnԁ bе mesmerized bу thе wide variety οf flowers whісh аrе grown here. Thеrе аrе vast beds οf tulips οf аƖƖ colors fοr visitors tο see аnԁ thе Kochia Hill іѕ known аѕ thе multicolored hill bесаυѕе οf thе various colored…Recently we visited the Hitachi seaside Park. This was our second visit to the park, the first one being in summer of 2010. While the first visit was in the scorching and humid Japanese summer, the recent visit was perhaps the best time to visit the park.

"Hitachi Seaside Park, located in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, next to the Ajigaura Beach, is a flower park and a popular tourist destination. The park covers an area of ​​3.5 hectares and the flowers are amazing all year round. Each season you will find a different variety of flower blossoming over the "Miharashi No Oka", a hill commanding a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. The park is particularly famous for blue nemophilas. Nemophilas are annual flowers with transparent blue petals. During spring, more than 4.5 million blue nemophilas bloom all over the park. The blooming period is called “Nemophilia Harmony” and attracts many visitors.

Aside from nemophilas, the park has about a million daffodils blooming amidst the pine trees, about 170 varieties of tulips and many other flowers. Filled with woods, gardens, a mini amusement area and cycling courses sprinkled throughout the park, Hitachi Seaside Park is a must-see for anyone venturing to Japan."

"With an area of about 190ha, Hitachi seaside park boasts its a wide variety of seasonal flower gardens such as narcissus and tulip in spring , nemophila and rose in early summer , zinnia in summer and kochia and cosmos in autumn. Anyway, since it was mid-October and still a bit too early for a perfect koyo, I looked for something different. Besides, I’ve been to Hakone and Nikko already, so why not check out a different place, right? As I was looking around, one picture caught my attention: a picture of a hill covered with bright magenta-colored plants called kochia (also called ‘bassia’ in English). I found out that the picture was taken at a seaside park in Ibaraki prefecture named Hitachi Kaihin Park. Without having a second thought, I decided to head out there. I just fell in love with the color at the first sight.
We took a rapid train bound for Katsuta (勝田) from Nippori (日暮里) station and it took about 2 hours. If you want to save some time, you can take an express train called 'Fresh Hitachi' and pay double. After getting off the train, we transferred to a local bus which took us to the West entrance. The admission was only 300 yen. Upon entering, we found a big wide-open space with a fountain behind it. We sat down there and had lunch while looking at a site map.
Apparently, Hitachi Kaihin Park is almost 7 times bigger than Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. There are so many things to do. Since it is gigantic, people rent bicycles or get on a train called the Seaside Train, which goes around the park. There is a road through the park that takes in the many gardens with different flowers, and there is also an amusement park.
Among the gardens, my favorite is, of course, Kochia! According to the map, Kochia was planted around the place called “Miharashi no oka - lookout hill”. As the name indicates, we got the best view from there. We looked down the magenta carpet from the hilltop on one side and also enjoyed the view of the Pacific Ocean on the other! To add a nice color gradation, lots of cosmos were planted among the kochia. I wish it was sunny day so that I could have seen the contrast between the blue sky over the red garden, but the view was still amazing nevertheless!

Flowers in Holland

The striking colors of the flowering tulip bulbs are a typical sight in Holland during the spring. The bright red, pink and yellow colors are overwhelmingly beautiful and are a must see, or should we say, a must experience!

Flower Fields Season

From the end of March until the second  week of May the flowers in the bulb fields bloom. It goes without saying that the exact period depends on the weather. Generally speaking, the best time is the second half of April.

At the end of March the crocus season starts. The daffodils and early and small tulips are next, from the beginning of April. From mid-April the daffodils and the hyacinths bloom. Finally, from mid April until the first week in May the tulips show off their glorious colors.

Bulb Field Regions

The best-known bulb fields are located behind the North Sea dunes, between the cities of Leiden and Den Helder. Other bulb fields, just as lovely, are situated near Enkhuizen (Bovenkarspel, Andijk) and in the province of Flevoland (Noordoost Polder, Oostelijk Flevoland). Walking, cycling and car routes are available from the local tourist information offices in the bulb field regions.

Welcome back, spring! While it’s still only in the calendar, French photographer Normann Szkop gives you this splash of colors in his aerial photos of tulip fields in the Netherlands. Normann took the pictures while flying over the fields of Anna Paulown municipality in a small Cesna plane, piloted by Claython Pender. The perfectly straight and vibrant fields of differently-colored tulips remind us why we all love spring so much.

What looks like such a spectacular view to most of us is actually one of the leading businesses in the Netherlands: according to the statistics, around 80% of the tulip production comes from this country alone. However, these flowers are not as innocent as they look! Interestingly, tulips are considered to be responsible for the first recorded speculative bubble.

By 1636 the tulip bulb became the fourth leading export product of the Netherlands—after gin, herring and cheese. The price of tulips skyrocketed because of speculation in tulip futures among people who never saw the bulbs. At the peak of tulip mania, in February 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman!

Luckily, those times are over and there are plenty of these beautiful flowers on every corner. Almost all of them come from the Netherlands, and grow in the fields like the ones below. The season begins in March, so if you’re in Holland, make sure to visit the country side and see the marvelous sights!

The Netherlands is renowned as the land of tulips and there is no better time of year to visit the flower fields than spring, when the bulbs are in full bloom. Enjoy a stunning display of colour, as you journey past more than 7 million tulips and other bulbs in bloom. Amsterdam's Keukenhof Garden showcases a huge flower exhibition where hundreds of glorious outdoor and indoor gardens create a majestic colourful atmosphere. See tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, flowering shrubs, and ancient trees covered in blossom. You will also discover ten ever-changing indoor exhibitions or flower parades, seven theme gardens, a corn mill, a sculpture trail and a special route for children.There are three different tour options to choose from. The 5 hour tour is perfect for those just wanting to see this amazing colourful spectacle and includes 3 hours free time at the gardens. The 10 hour tour is more suited to those interested in horticulture who wish to spend more time exploring the gardens and learning more about the different blooms. You will enjoy 8 hours free time to look around beautiful Keukenhof Gardens.
But even then I knew you can't restrain a tulip in an bowl. So I was thrilled to take Scenic Tours' river cruise along the lower Rhine, through Belgium and Holland, ending up in the Keukenhof Gardens, the biggest flower garden in the world, with seven million spring bulbs.
Although I am a cruise junkie, I had never before been on a river cruise. The ship itself, the Emerald, was long and low, lined with balconies and huge windows. There was always something to look at; people walking dogs, windmills, birds wheeling ahead of you, and the excitement of the locks.
The Emerald has comfortable cabins, each with its own bathroom, balcony or picture window. The food was straightforward but delicious, with open seating so you meet people.
The cruise began in Antwerp, and I owe Belgium an apology. I had always thought it dull.
How wrong I was.
Antwerp is a fabulous city. Having admired the cathedral and the ornate houses, I spent a happy hour in the diamond quarter and then visited Rubens House, where Peter Paul Rubens had his studio. It has been restored and is the perfect combination of gallery and domestic home.

I only had half a day in Bruges with its charming canals, and could have done with more.
But a cruise is really a reconnaissance - a glimpse of places you can choose to revisit.
Our goal was the Keukenhof Gardens, showcase for the Dutch bulb industry, its 79 acres opened in 1949. We took a bus from Lisse and were soon driving between tulip fields, their furrows laid with vivid pink, scarlet and gold.
The fields belong to tulip farmers who donate their finest bulbs to the Keukenhof. Tulips were first discovered growing on high mountains in Turkey, so they love to freeze in winter and bake in summer.
They came to Europe, so the story goes, in the 16th century when a Dutchman had a friend working in Turkey who sent him a parcel as a present.
Unwrapping it, he saw what he thought were strange onions. He tried to eat them boiled, then fried, but they tasted so disgusting he threw them on his rubbish heap. Next spring his onions sprouted beautiful flowers. The tulip had arrived.
It's an unlikely story. But it is true that in the middle of the 17th century 'tulip mania' took hold in Holland, with bulbs changing hands sometimes ten times a day for a fortune.
Standing in the Keukenhof Gardens you can see why. Sweeping arcs of glorious colour light the landscape.
If it rains on your visit, don't despair. Dotted among the acres are covered pavilions, and the central one is crammed with tulips of every size, shape and colour. Some have frills, others are shaped like lilies or goblets.
Can you import this beauty? Yes. Get some delicious 'Poffertjes' (tiny puff pancakes) warm from the cafe, then wander to a stall to buy the bulbs. You can purchase exotic breeds such as Queen of Night (glossy black petals) and Bleu Aimable (lavender blue). Browsing through the irresistible colours, I ordered bags of them, including flamboyant wild parrot tulips.
A word of warning. We ended our cruise in Amsterdam and in some of the flower markets there, tourists were offered last year's exhausted bulbs for sale.
The trick is not to buy bulbs in packs before October. They won't flower. I did say they were divas.
But if you love them, go to Holland.
As my mother told me, the tulip fields are one of the wonders of the world.