Blizzardboy | A Kiwi in Japan

Tsukuba is blessed with a wide range of things to do and one such point of interest are the Botanical Gardens run by the National Science Museum on Higashi Odori.

Opened in 1983, the Botanical Gardens provide an ideal destination for an afternoon out with the family. A large range of diverse flora are on display in this facility spread over a 14 hectare area. We visited there a couple of weeks ago, but spring is really the best time to visit with some stunningly beautiful flowers to see. Autumn though is not without its own niceties. The following picture shows Chrysanthemum nipponicum which blooms during October.

There are both indoor and outdoor gardens, ranging from tropical planets through to desert cactii, montane grassland as well as marshland plants.

The gardens are opposite Tsukuba University and a link to a map on google maps is here: Tsukuba Botanical Gardens. It is possible to visit from Tokyo – take the Tsukuba Express from Akihabara to the final stop (about 45 minutes) then take the Kanto Tetsudo Bus from Tsukaba Center to Tsukuba Techno-Park Oho (about 5 minutes) and get off at the bus stop of the Tsukuba Botanical Garden.

There is an english website here with more information about the plants and activities of the botanical gardens.

Entrance is 300 yen for adults and university students and free for rugrats and other students. The gardens are closed Mondays except for public holidays (much the same as the Tsukuba Public Library).