in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi
Hinoyama Park in Shimonoseki is a popular area during the spring. Its Turkish Tulip Garden is filled with cherry blossoms, wild flowers, as well as various tulips. The design of the tulips change each year! The garden is a symbol of friendship between Turkey and Japan. Over 40,000 tulips were donated by the mayor of Istanbul as a thank you to Shimonoseki for helping with the construction of their Japanese garden. Shimonoseki and Istanbul are considered sister cities due to the similarities in their geographical location as both cities are home to major straits. You can also see a stunning view of the Kanmon Straits from the garden. Each year many people visit during spring to see the cherry blossoms and tulips at Hinoyama Park blooming together.
My Experience
We visited Hinoyama Park at the beginning of April. We parked at the top of the mountain inside the park and rode the ropeway down to the tulip garden. I think its easier to find parking at the top; however, we did have to wait about 20 minutes in line for the ropeway as there are only two cars operating. The park itself was a little crowded but it wasn't too bad. The view from the top of the ropeway is so stunning! You can see the Kanmon Straits which connect Honshu and Kyushu. It was a little cloudy when we visited though.
The Turkish Tulip Garden was first opened in 2019. The colorful patterns of tulips combined with the cherry blossoms were so beautiful! They also had other wildflowers such as nemophila growing! Unfortunately, not all the flowers were blooming at the same time, so there were empty lines but it was still very pretty. Since the weather changes each year you must get lucky to visit at the right time when all the different species of flowers are in bloom! The garden itself isn't that large and maybe takes about 30 minutes to an hour to walk around. The view from the top of the garden is particularly beautiful. You can see a beautiful rainbow of tulips! I think this area is a very popular spot for photographers as well. There were some people picnicking and quietly enjoying hanami on the sides of the park.
Official Site
Address
Mimosusogawacho, Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture 751-0813
Access
Shimonoseki Station - 15 min by bus
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