# Showa Kinen Park: flower fields, ginkgo avenues and a full day out in Tachikawa

[Showa Kinen Park](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E5%9B%BD%E5%96%B6%E6%98%AD%E5%92%8C%E8%A8%98%E5%BF%B5%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E5%B8%82%E7%B7%91%E7%94%BA3173) is a national government park on a former air base in Tachikawa and Akishima, around 40 minutes from Shinjuku by JR. It is planned at 180 hectares, and about nine tenths of that is open. It is where Tokyo goes for flowers on a big scale: rapeseed and tulips in spring, millions of cosmos in autumn, two ginkgo avenues in November. With a 14 km cycling course, a large Japanese garden and play areas, one visit easily fills a day. The list below is updated daily with flower festivals, night walks, markets and other events in the park.

## From an air base to a national government park

The land was Tachikawa Air Base, used by the Japanese army before 1945 and by US forces until its return in 1977. The park was built to mark fifty years of Emperor Showa's reign, and its first 70 hectares opened in 1983. As a national government park it has gates, an entrance fee and fixed hours.

Think of it in zones. Around [Akebono Gate](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E5%9B%BD%E5%96%B6%E6%98%AD%E5%92%8C%E8%A8%98%E5%BF%B5%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92%20%E3%81%82%E3%81%91%E3%81%BC%E3%81%AE%E5%8F%A3%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E5%B8%82%E7%B7%91%E7%94%BA3173), nearest Tachikawa Station, is a free area with the Showa Emperor Memorial Hall. Past [Tachikawa Gate](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E5%9B%BD%E5%96%B6%E6%98%AD%E5%92%8C%E8%A8%98%E5%BF%B5%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92%20%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E5%8F%A3%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E5%B8%82%E7%B7%91%E7%94%BA3173) lies the Canal, a long formal water garden lined with ginkgo. In the middle is [Minna no Harappa](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E5%9B%BD%E5%96%B6%E6%98%AD%E5%92%8C%E8%A8%98%E5%BF%B5%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92%20%E3%81%BF%E3%82%93%E3%81%AA%E3%81%AE%E5%8E%9F%E3%81%A3%E3%81%B1%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E5%B8%82%E7%B7%91%E7%94%BA3173), an 11-hectare lawn with one huge zelkova, ringed by flower fields. The south has the Water Bird Pond with boats; the wooded north holds the Japanese garden, Children's Forest and Komorebi no Sato, a rebuilt farming hamlet. Crossing the park on foot takes about an hour, so pick your gate by what you want to see.

- Download the PDF maps from the [official site](https://www.showakinen-koen.jp/pamphlets/) or pick one up at the gate. In a park this size a map matters.

- → [The big parks of Tokyo: which one for what](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/big-parks.md)
- → [Festival day trips from Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/day-trips.md)
- → [Flowers, autumn leaves and seasons in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/nature.md)

## Spring and summer: rapeseed, tulips, poppies and sunflowers

Plum blossom opens the year from mid-January to mid-March. Rapeseed fills the Harappa flower fields from late February to mid-April, and the park's 1,500 or so cherry trees, thickest in Sakura no Sono, flower from late March to mid-April, the busiest picnic weeks of the year.

The spring Flower Festival runs from late March into late May. Its heart is the tulip garden along the stream in Keiryu Hiroba: about 250,000 bulbs of 260 varieties in 2026, best in early and mid-April. Nemophila covers a Harappa field from mid-April to mid-May, and in May the Hana no Oka hill turns red with poppies (Iceland poppies in earlier years, Shirley poppies with baby's breath in 2026). Wisteria and azaleas flower around the Canal and the Japanese garden from mid-April, irises from mid-May.

Summer is greener and quieter. Sunflowers bloom in a Harappa field from late July to mid-August, and the kochia on Herb Hill grows into green balls that turn red in October. On one evening in late July the Tachikawa festival fireworks rise over Minna no Harappa; since 2026 the central viewing area needs a paid ticket. The old Rainbow Pool has closed for good.

- Fields rotate from year to year. Check the [bloom reports](https://www.showakinen-koen.jp/hanadayori/) rather than last year's photos.
- On tulip and cherry weekends the car parks fill by mid morning. Come by train, at opening time.

- → [Flower festivals in Tokyo through the year](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/flowers.md)
- → [Cherry blossom season in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/sakura.md)
- → [Plum blossom season in and around Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/plum-blossoms.md)
- → [Hitachi Seaside Park: nemophila, kochia and a day by the sea](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/hitachi-seaside-park.md)
- → [Flowers, autumn leaves and seasons in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/nature.md)
- → [This weekend in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/this-weekend.md)

## Autumn and winter: cosmos, ginkgo and the night walk

The Cosmos Festival runs from mid-September to late October. In 2026 about four million yellow cosmos covered Hana no Oka until early October, followed by pink cosmos and red buckwheat in a Harappa field through October.

The Canal ginkgo avenue (about 200 m) and the Katarai ginkgo avenue (about 300 m) turn from late October and are usually best in mid-November. The Japanese garden maples peak in the second half of November. From late October to late November an autumn night walk lights the ginkgo avenues and the Canal, the park stays open until 9pm, and only Nishi-Tachikawa and Tachikawa gates are open after dark. The lit Japanese garden needs a separate night ticket, sold online from a week before.

There is no Christmas illumination now: the Winter Vista Illumination ended in 2018 and the autumn light-up replaced it. Winter brings wintersweet and early plum from mid-January and quiet walks on short days.

- For the ginkgo avenues without crowds, come on a weekday morning in mid-November.

- → [Autumn leaves in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/autumn-leaves.md)
- → [Tokyo in November: autumn leaves, markets and first lights](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/tokyo-in-november.md)
- → [Winter illuminations in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/winter-illuminations.md)
- → [Flowers, autumn leaves and seasons in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/nature.md)
- → [This month in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/this-month.md)

## The Japanese garden, bonsai and the old farm hamlet

The [Japanese garden](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E5%9B%BD%E5%96%B6%E6%98%AD%E5%92%8C%E8%A8%98%E5%BF%B5%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92%20%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E5%BA%AD%E5%9C%92%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E5%B8%82%E7%B7%91%E7%94%BA3173), opened in 1997, is a 6-hectare strolling garden around a pond, with a 7 m waterfall. Kanfutei, a sukiya-style tea house, serves matcha with a sweet, and Seichiken, a rest house over the water, is the place to watch the carp. Rules are stricter here: no food or drink except water, no picnic sheets, no pets.

The bonsai garden inside the Japanese garden shows about 50 of its 80 trees at a time, led by a five-needle pine over 150 years old. A short walk north, Komorebi no Sato recreates a Musashino farming hamlet of the 1950s and 1960s, with a farmhouse, paddies and seasonal displays such as hina dolls before the Girls' Festival.

- → [The best Japanese gardens in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/japanese-gardens.md)
- → [Tea ceremony in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/tea-ceremony.md)
- → [Cultural & Ethnic Festivals events in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/culture.md)

## Cycling, children and barbecue

The 14 km cycling course is for bikes only. Rental centres at Tachikawa, Nishi-Tachikawa and Sunagawa gates have about 2,000 bikes, including child seats and tandems; as of 2026 an adult bike costs 600 yen for three hours. Return it where you rented it. Your own bike can come in through the bicycle entrances, but not electric mopeds or e-scooters, and walking on the course is forbidden.

Children head for the Children's Forest (Kodomo no Mori) in the north: the white Kumo no Umi domes to bounce on (junior high age and under), roller slides through the trees and a mist forest from March to November. It is about 25 minutes on foot from Nishi-Tachikawa Gate, closer from Sunagawa Gate. There are also boats on the Water Bird Pond and a park train that loops the grounds in about an hour, paid in cash.

Cooking is allowed only at the reserved barbecue spots: the BBQ Garden near Nishi-Tachikawa Gate, bookable from two months to four days ahead, and the barbecue at the Fureai Hiroba restaurant. Elsewhere fires and portable stoves are banned. Packed lunches on the lawns are fine, and small dome tents up to 2 m are allowed, but not tarps.

- Bring helmets for children: rental helmets are limited.

- → [Tokyo with kids](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/kids.md)
- → [Picnics, hanami and BBQ in Tokyo parks: what is allowed](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/picnics-bbq.md)
- → [How to spend a weekend in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/weekend.md)
- → [This weekend in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/this-weekend.md)

## Gates, tickets, rules and getting there

[Nishi-Tachikawa Gate](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E5%9B%BD%E5%96%B6%E6%98%AD%E5%92%8C%E8%A8%98%E5%BF%B5%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92%20%E8%A5%BF%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E5%8F%A3%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E5%B8%82%E7%B7%91%E7%94%BA3173) is 2 minutes from [JR Nishi-Tachikawa Station](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=JR%20%E8%A5%BF%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E9%A7%85%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E6%98%AD%E5%B3%B6%E5%B8%82%E6%9D%B1%E7%94%BA1%E4%B8%81%E7%9B%AE), one stop past Tachikawa on the Ome Line; some Chuo Line trains from Shinjuku run straight through. From the north exit of [JR Tachikawa Station](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=JR%20%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E9%A7%85%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E5%B8%82%E6%9B%99%E7%94%BA2-1-1), Akebono Gate is 10 minutes on foot and Tachikawa Gate 18 minutes. [Sunagawa Gate](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E5%9B%BD%E5%96%B6%E6%98%AD%E5%92%8C%E8%A8%98%E5%BF%B5%E5%85%AC%E5%9C%92%20%E7%A0%82%E5%B7%9D%E5%8F%A3%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E5%B8%82%E7%B7%91%E7%94%BA3173), best for the Japanese garden, is 13 minutes by Tachikawa Bus from the station's north exit.

As of 2026, entry is 450 yen for adults and 210 yen for 65 and over, free for junior high school students and younger. The park opens at 9:30am and closes at 5pm from March to October (6pm on weekends and holidays from April to September) and at 4:30pm from November to February. It is closed on December 31, January 1 and from the third Monday of January to the Friday of that week.

Drones and fireworks are banned and kites fly only on Minna no Harappa. Alcohol is not on the park's list of banned items. Dogs are welcome on a short lead after you fill in a pledge form at the gate, but not in the Japanese garden, on the cycling course or on the park train.

By Akebono Gate, [GREEN SPRINGS](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=GREEN%20SPRINGS%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E7%AB%8B%E5%B7%9D%E5%B8%82%E7%B7%91%E7%94%BA3-1) has cafés, a concert hall and a hotel, handy for dinner after the night walk. From Nishi-Tachikawa the Ome Line continues into the mountains toward Okutama, and Mount Takao is about 25 minutes west of Tachikawa on the Chuo Line.

- Hours change around events. Trust the [operating calendar](https://www.showakinen-koen.jp/park-information/schedule/) on the official site.

- → [Okutama day trip: Tokyo's mountains, gorges and lake](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/okutama.md)
- → [Mount Takao: trails, Yakuoin temple and the hiking year](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/takao-san.md)
- → [Getting around Tokyo: trains, Suica and taxis](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/getting-around.md)
- → [Free events in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/free.md)

## All events, soonest first

- **[Tachikawa Festival 2026](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/tachikawa-festival-2026)** — Sat, Nov 14, 2026 10:00 – Sun, Nov 15, 2026 (JST) · Showa Kinen Park Green Culture Zone · Free entry
- **[Grand Marché at Showa Kinen Park](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/grand-marche-at-showa-kinen-park)** — Sat, Dec 12, 2026 10:00 – Sun, Dec 13, 2026 (JST) · Showa Kinen Park Green Culture Zone Yumehiroba (December) / Hanamidori Cultural Center (January) · Free entry
- **[Grand Marché at Showa Kinen Park](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/grand-marche-at-showa-kinen-park-2)** — Sat, Jan 30, 2027 10:00 – Sun, Jan 31, 2027 (JST) · Showa Kinen Park Green Culture Zone Yumehiroba (December) / Hanamidori Cultural Center (January) · Free entry
- **[Tachikawa Santa Relay Marathon at Showa Memorial Park](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/tachikawa-santa-relay-marathon-at-showa-memorial-park)** — Sat, Dec 12, 2026 (JST) · Showa Memorial Park (Tachikawa) · ¥3,480–¥4,180
- **[Autumn Foliage at Showa Memorial Park](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/autumn-foliage-at-showa-memorial-park)** — Thu, Oct 29, 2026 09:30 – Sun, Nov 29, 2026 (JST) · Showa Memorial Park (Tachikawa) · ¥450
- **[Autumn Night Walk 2026 at Showa Memorial National Park](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/autumn-night-walk-2026-at-showa-memorial-national)** — Thu, Oct 29, 2026 16:30 – Sun, Nov 29, 2026 (JST) · Showa Memorial Park (Tachikawa) · ¥450
- **[Tokyo Flea Market '26 Autumn](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/26-autumn)** — Sat, Oct 31, 2026 – Tue, Nov 3, 2026 (JST) · Tachikawa National Showa Memorial Park Midori-no-Bunka Zone Yumehiroba · ¥1,800–¥2,300

## Questions people ask

**Is Showa Kinen Park free?**
Only the area around Akebono Gate. The rest of the park costs 450 yen for adults and 210 yen for 65 and over (as of 2026); junior high school students and younger enter free.

**Which gate is closest to a station?**
Nishi-Tachikawa Gate, about 2 minutes from JR Nishi-Tachikawa Station on the Ome Line.

**When do the tulips bloom at Showa Kinen Park?**
Usually in early and mid-April, along the stream in Keiryu Hiroba. Check the [official flower page](https://www.showakinen-koen.jp/flower-information/) before you go.

**When are the ginkgo trees yellow?**
From late October to late November, usually best in mid-November. During the autumn night walk the ginkgo avenues are lit in the evening.

**Is there a Christmas illumination at Showa Kinen Park?**
Not any more. The winter illumination ended in 2018 and was replaced by the autumn night walk in November.

**Can I have a barbecue in the park?**
Only at the BBQ Garden near Nishi-Tachikawa Gate or at the Fureai Hiroba restaurant, both by reservation. Fires and portable stoves are banned everywhere else.

---
Tokyo Events: https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/showa-kinen-park