About 200,000 Japanese irises at peak bloom in park north of Tokyo
About 200,000 Japanese irises in full bloom have created colorful flower carpets in a park north of Tokyo.
The irises, called "hana shobu" in Japanese, began to bloom in early June at the Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi Prefecture.
The park says the irises have been blooming earlier in recent years due to high temperatures, but they have opened at the usual time this year because of the chilly weather in early spring.
Visitors to the park on Sunday enjoyed viewing the white and purple flowers and took photos.
A woman in her 60s from the neighboring prefecture of Gunma says she was surprised to see far more flowers than she had expected. She says they are elegant and beautiful.
Park official Koike Tomoko says Japanese irises are among the flowers that match the rainy season. She says she hopes as many people as possible will enjoy them.
The park says the irises will be at their best until around late June.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
13 hours ago
- NHK
Mercury rises to mid-summer levels in wide areas of Japan
Extremely hot weather hit wide areas in Japan from the Kyushu to Hokuriku regions on Monday. Weather officials say people should continue to stay alert for heatstroke on Tuesday. The Japan Meteorological Agency said temperatures rose across the nation on Monday as warm air moved in under the influence of a high pressure system. Daytime highs reached 35 degrees Celsius or higher at 22 locations across Japan. They include 36.5 degrees in Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture, 36.2 in Tokushima City, 36.1 in Kumano City, Mie Prefecture and 36 in Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Prefecture. The figure at Tokushima City marked its highest temperature for June since the agency began record-taking in 1891. Many other locations registered temperatures of 30 degrees or higher, including 33.6 in Osaka City, 33.5 in Nagoya City and 31.6 in central Tokyo. The officials say the flow of warm air is expected to continue on Tuesday, pushing up temperatures again from the Chugoku through Kanto-Koshin regions. Daytime highs are expected to reach 36 degrees in Kumagaya and Maebashi cities, north of Tokyo, 35 in Nagoya City, and 34 in central Tokyo. Osaka and Fukuoka cities are forecast to hit 33. The agency also says the passage of a front will cause unstable atmospheric conditions. This may bring localized heavy rain with thunder on Tuesday morning in western Japan, and through the afternoon to late night in eastern Japan. The officials are calling on people to be alert for lightning strikes and violent gusts such as tornados, as well as localized heavy rain.
NHK
15 hours ago
- NHK
Japan foreign ministry advises caution among Japanese in Iran, Israel
Japan's Foreign Ministry is raising the level of its travel warning for most parts of Iran and Israel, following the start of Israel's attacks on Iran. The ministry on Friday raised the risk warning from level 2 to level 3, the second highest on the scale of 1 to 4. Level 2 calls for cancellation of non-essential travel, and level 3 urges to avoid all travel. The areas covered include the Iranian capital Tehran and Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in Israel. The ministry says that about 380 Japanese citizens have submitted their notification of residence to its mission in Iran, and roughly 1,000 have done so in Israel as of Monday. The figures do not include travelers and people on a short term stay, the ministry says. The ministry says the situation in those countries can quickly deteriorate and also calls on the expatriates to stay safe and remain updated with the latest information.
NHK
17 hours ago
- NHK
About 200,000 Japanese irises at peak bloom in park north of Tokyo
About 200,000 Japanese irises in full bloom have created colorful flower carpets in a park north of Tokyo. The irises, called "hana shobu" in Japanese, began to bloom in early June at the Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi Prefecture. The park says the irises have been blooming earlier in recent years due to high temperatures, but they have opened at the usual time this year because of the chilly weather in early spring. Visitors to the park on Sunday enjoyed viewing the white and purple flowers and took photos. A woman in her 60s from the neighboring prefecture of Gunma says she was surprised to see far more flowers than she had expected. She says they are elegant and beautiful. Park official Koike Tomoko says Japanese irises are among the flowers that match the rainy season. She says she hopes as many people as possible will enjoy them. The park says the irises will be at their best until around late June.
