We heard from an ad on Facebook about the Kokaigawa poppy fields in Ibaraki Prefecture. The ad said that the park would host some 3 million poppies across a 3.2 hectare field from Mid May to Early June. On a clear day Mt. Tsukuba would provide a beautiful backdrop. Luckily, we were available to check it out. This park is beautiful for strolling around and family friendly.

It was a 90 minute drive from our house. We opted to not take the ETC Expressway and save a little money. There were several free parking lots with plenty of spaces available.

We decided to go check out the poppy fields first. Along the way we passed by a nice bocce ball course. We later learned that balls and clubs could be rented from the main building for a fee of ¥100/person.

Kokaigawa Poppy Fields

Just past the bocce ball course was the poppy flower fields. The fields were impressive for their scale and beautiful mix of red, white, and pink flowers. We walked around a bit to take in the beauty. As we walked further into the fields Mt. Tsukuba came into view. The flowers with Mt. Tsukuba in the background were beautiful. We were fortunate that it was a clear day.

We were impressed with the variety of colors that were present. There were solid white, red, orange, and pink flowers. In addition, they had these beautiful hybrid flowers that combined two different colors and created some beautiful combinations. After snapping some pictures we decided to check out the rest of the park.

On top of the river bank there was very robust playground that included a number of slides, climbing features, and this super cool tunnel system. There were numerous hills and terrain features that were popular with the children.

The main building resembled a butterfly. From the aerial view on Google Maps the building did in fact look like a butterfly. Inside, there was a photo gallery and small aquarium. We were surprised with how many different types of fish that were on display. Most of the fish were representative of what you might find in the local rivers and lakes. The photo gallery showcased the Shimotsuma City’s highlights throughout the year. They were really beautiful and definitely peaked our interest in learning more about the city.

There were a couple of small food trucks outside, but we opted to look elsewhere for food.

Other park amenities included two softball fields, a soccer field, and this tree covered BBQ area that could be rented.

Final Thoughts

We enjoyed our time at the Kokaigawa Fureai Park. There was a good amount of parking, it wasn’t super crowded, and best of all it was completely free.

Here is the link to Shimotsuma City’s website.

More to Come…