Hotels near Showa Kinen Park

Showa Kinen Park is a national government park of about 165 hectares, built on a former airbase in Tachikawa to commemorate the reign of Emperor Showa. In October its fields of cosmos, the flower most associated with autumn in Japan, bloom in millions of pink, white and yellow stems, usually from late September to late October, with varieties planted to flower in waves.

The park also has a Japanese garden that turns red with maples later in the season, a huge central lawn and an avenue of ginkgo trees near the Tachikawa Gate that turns gold from late October into November. Bicycles can be hired to cover the distances, and entry costs a few hundred yen. It is an easy half-day trip, about 40 minutes from Shinjuku on the JR Chuo Line.

Pro Tip: Head for Hana no Oka hill first, where the largest cosmos fields grow, and come on a weekday morning, as October weekends draw big crowds of families and photographers.