Look Beyond the Cherry Blossoms
A Guide to Osaka’s Spring Flower Hotspots

Konnichiwa! Yuka here.
There’s more out there than just cherry blossoms. Kansai has lots of spring flowers!
And as we move through the season of spring, a whole variety of flowers emerge from the landscape.
There are parks dotted with exceptionally beautiful flowers here and there. There are sprawling fields of one particular type of flower that dyes the landscape a certain hue. So where is the best place to see flowers in Osaka?
Here’s a handful of suggestions to visit in spring…

［Contents］

• Osaka Expo ’70 Commemorative Park: A Blanket of Tulips
• Baby Blue Eyes Festival: A Hillside Draped in a Periwinkle
• Noda Fuji Wisteria: Lustrous Purple Clusters
• Utsubo Park: A Green Oasis in the Heart of Osaka
• Nakanoshima Rose Garden: Perfect for a Romantic Stroll
• Yamadaike Park: Delicate Irises Up Close
• Kyuanji Temple: The Photogenic Floating Hydrangea Pond

Osaka Expo ’70 Commemorative Park: A Blanket of Tulips

A beautiful place for flowers, this park boasts sunflowers in summer, cosmos in fall, and various other seasonal flowers. The park is a popular cherry blossom spot, and just after the sakura petals start to fall, it’s time for the tulips!

Red, white, and yellow…The flowers seem to sing out the lyrics of that popular children’s song Tulip♪
The flowers are expertly planted in rows according to color, with approximately 30 varieties and 100,000 tulips all together.

Look at these!

And these!

There are even purple tulips!

And the Tower of the Sun!
This sculpture is incredibly eye-catching and a symbol of the park. Plus it pairs so well with tulips! Have a leisurely stroll among the colorful flowers and take in the beautiful scenery.

Baby Blue Eyes Festival: A Hillside Draped in a Periwinkle

Each tiny nemophila (baby blue eyes) opens wide and when you have 1 million plants gathered together…

They make this kind of breathtaking scenery! Social media picked up on Osaka’s Maishima Seaside Park Nemophila Festival in 2019 and it has been a regular Osaka event ever since. Three shades of blue overhead in the sky, to the ocean waters filling Osaka Bay, and the hillside painted blue in flowers, all create a picture straight out of a fairytale.

The MAISHIMA sign makes for a great photo spot!
The dreamy blue-covered hill makes a lovely daytime destination for families, couples, and friends.

Noda Fuji Wisteria: Lustrous Purple Clusters

Dangling overhead like a purple waterfall, these bold purple flowers are so luxurious. The Noda neighborhood in the Fukushima Ward of Osaka is the origin of the Noda Fuji variety of wisteria. It’s one of 3 famous places alongside the cherry trees of Yoshino in Nara or the autumn leaves of Takao in Kyoto.


You can see the famous Noda Fuji outside Hanshin Railway Noda Station or in Shimo-Fukushima Park, which is a 6 minute walk from Nakanoshima Station on the Keihan Railway.

Apparently, wisteria require special care and even with the attention of a gardener, they may not bloom every year. These beauties are specially cared for by locals so that we can enjoy these gorgeous cascading trusses every year.

According to Nakai Ushitaki in the Osaka Municipal Library Digital Archive, CC 4.0, purple was a color reserved for royalty in ancient times and evokes an image of Hikaru Genji, dearly regarded by the Lady Fujitsubo in The Tale of Genji.
Fast forward to modern times and you’ll see the wisteria used to ward off evil in the manga turned anime, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
The flower symbolizes kindness and hospitality in Japanese culture. Some believe that the trusses resemble a woman in kimono greeting her guests. It’s so interesting that the same flower that would welcome guests is the same flower used to dispel demons.
It gets a little creepy when you consider the other meanings affiliated with wisteria: being spellbound, being intoxicated with love, never letting go…
Regardless, it has a deep spiritual symbolism and is considered very feminine and attractive.

Utsubo Park: A Green Oasis in the Heart of Osaka

Come see the rose garden at Utsubo Park in spring!
Follow the curving path through a garden of approximately 3,400 rose bushes of 170 different varieties.


Follow the path up the hill to look out over the whole garden or view it from ground-level like the above photo.

Plus there are beautiful Zelkova lined walkways in the park. A favorite place to relax and soak in the filtered sunlight.

Nakanoshima Rose Garden: Perfect for a Romantic Stroll

Completely surrounded by Tosabori and Dojima Rivers, the central island of Nakanoshima is a picturesque islet in Aquametropolis Osaka.
Nakanoshima is so close to the business districts of Honmachi and Umeda, yet the rose gardens are a place away from it all.

Flowerbeds holding approximately 3,700 rose bushes of 310 varieties are laid out in perfect symmetry creating a romantic backdrop for the perfect spring date.

Big thick clusters of white, blossoms fragrant with that classic rose aroma, cute pink flowers with dark red centers, there are so many kinds of roses to see in the park. And it’s surrounded by the cities skyscrapers on all sides. It’s a beautiful place to take a rest and take in the jewels of spring.

Nearby you’ll find the classic red-brick architecture of Osaka City Central Public Hall and the stone lion statues standing guard at the foot of Naniwa Bridge. It’s a classy spot to take a date and there are cafes in the park too.

Yamadaike Park: Delicate Irises Up Close

Late May through the end of June is the season to see the irises. They pop open in rainy season in shades of white and purple, announcing the start of summer despite the rain.

A wooden walkway winds through the iris garden at Yamadaike Park in the city of Hirakata. The path will let you get close to the 10,000 flowers that will impress with the 140 or so varieties. Pose in front of the many shades of purple for a memorable photo.

Apparently the garden is lit in evenings so it would be a romantic place for an evening date. Although it is grown in other regions of the world, this type of iris (hanashōbu) originated in Japan.
Yamadaike Park Iris Garden

Kyuanji Temple: The Photogenic Floating Hydrangea Pond

This traditional temple in Ikeda has a long history stretching over 1300 years. It earned the nickname “The Flower Temple” because of the gorgeous flowers year-round and stunning fall foliage. And in June, the hydrangea bloom. Shades of blue, pink, and white dot the temple grounds in pastel colors. It’s absolutely stunning.

And when the flowers have passed their prime, they are snipped off the bush and set afloat in the central pond.

It’s such a photogenic water feature, even if you only have a smartphone, be sure to get your picture here. And it’s such a clever way to enjoy these showy blossoms a little bit longer.

So what did you think? I hope you got some ideas for where to see spring flowers in Osaka. Because there is more to see than just the cherry trees! Look out for roses, irises, wisteria, baby blue eyes too. They’re all beautiful!
And have fun while you’re in Osaka!