A botanical garden focusing on wetland plants
Hakone Botanical Garden centers on the plant life thriving in the rivers and marshes originating from the wetlands. One particular feature is the walking path where you can look around the primeval wetlands from the lowlands to the mountains, and the wetlands that formed thereafter in order. It’s so easy to navigate that even a wheelchair can traverse the path. It takes 40 minutes to make one circuit through the re-created marshland and wetland zones. Through the meticulous construction, you can take your time looking at the plants one by one.
The garden consists of 8 zones
There are 8 zones within the garden: deciduous broad-leafed forests, dry grassy plains, low moors, Japanese moor grass plains, high mountain flower fields, high moors, the Sengokuhara wetlands and hygrophyte forests. Annually, the garden is closed from December 1st to March 19th. On the opening day of March 20th, you will be greeted by witch hazel and skunk cabbage. In the latter half of the month, a sign of spring is the 20,000 blossoms of skunk cabbage that are starting to open. June is the most beautiful time of the year. The flowers of more than 100 types of plants bloom in the garden. October is the peak time for Japanese pampas grass in the adjacent Sengokuhara. The grass that spreads out all over turns gold under the sun to become a shining carpet, a magnificent sight. As the autumn gets into full swing in the garden, the area is surrounded by the colors of flowers such as violet bellflowers and gold toad lilies. Right by the entrance, grass from mountains and fields from other countries is planted. Worthy of note are the unusual water plants from abroad. On the information board at the entrance, the best times to see the flowers are listed at any time. You can check these beforehand.
The set ticket with the surrounding tourist facilities is a bargain
The Hakone Botanical Garden is next to tourist facilities such as Sengokuhara and the Pola Museum of Art, so purchasing a set ticket at the counter is economical. For the Odakyu Express Bus set ticket, please refer to the Odakyu homepage.