Enchanting Wisteria Vines In Ashikaga Flower Park Make Us Wish We Could Fly To Japan Now
While we aren’t able to travel during the Covid-19 pandemic, we can still experience beauty through images.
Japan, especially, seems to abound with beautiful views, especially of floral-related scenery.
Take this gorgeous pink wisteria wonderland. The enchanting forest is home to hundreds of these vines, including a tree that is at least 144 years of age, according to reports.
Wisteria tree in Japan is “most beautiful in the world”
Dating back to around 1870, Ashikaga Flower Park is home to the beautiful sight of what it calls the most beautiful great wisteria in the world.
There, you can gaze upon hundreds of wisteria vines that cover close to 2,000 square metres of land.
Best time to visit is from April to May
The best time to visit the park and witness this splendour is between mid-April and mid-May.
At the start of the blossoming season, visitors will see pale pink blooms, which will slowly transition to a darker lavender.
The blooms later turn white, then yellow.
Most interestingly, depending on the time of day you visit, your experience will vary.
Changes in the lighting can create a totally different but equally whimsical feel to the sights.
Heavyweight structures
These vines can actually get extremely heavy due to their huge mass.
The entire structure of some vines is actually held up by steel supports so that visitors can delve into the magical wonderland without having to wade through thick vines.
That’s why one of the wisteria trees, which is at least 144 years old, is supported by a frame as its branches have become very heavy.
Looks like a tree, but isn’t a tree
Contrary to popular belief, while the wisteria looks like a tree, they are actually from the legume family — related to peas and peanuts.
Don’t be fooled by its resemblance to cotton candy either — all parts of this plant are toxic if ingested.
That’s fine though, because if you get to visit this park eventually, we’re sure you won’t be running around eating the pink vines.
A fairytale location we can only experience through screens for now
Sadly, we can’t go to Japan just yet thanks to Covid-19, but when travel restrictions are lifted, we may be able to take advantage of the Japanese government’s proposed subsidy of foreign tourists’ expenses.
Meanwhile, you can still experience this Avatar-esque Shangri-la through these images.
If that’s still not enough for your wanderlust, you can try walking through the gardens virtually on Google Street View.
Featured image adapted from Zekkei Japan.
