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From fields of colourful tulips to a sea of blue nemophila, the sprawling Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki has something to see every season. In summer, the park starts growing kochia, or summer cypress. These fluffy little bushes look like something out of a Dr Seuss book.
Slowly growing in scale over the past 20 years, there are now approximately 40,000 kochia bushes growing at the park’s Miharashi no Oka Hill area, covering roughly 2.3 hectares.
During summer, the bushes are in a fresh, vibrant green colour, but come autumn, they turn brilliant red.
These 'fur balls' have already started to change colour. The best time to see them in their full red glory is mid-October. Later into the month, they'll start to take on a dusty golden hue.
Currently, the green bushes have just started to turn red and will be at their peak from October 10 to October 20. You can keep tabs on this year’s kochia colours forecast via Hitachi Seaside Park’s website.
The kochia plants changing colour coincides with the annual Kochia Carnival, which is also showcasing vibrant yellow cosmos flowers on the lower sections of Miharashi no Oka Hill. The carnival runs until November 3.
The park is roughly two hours from Tokyo Station. See the park’s website for information on how to get there.
This article was published on August 18 2022 and updated on October 2 2026.
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