Crape myrtle park blooms in Fukushima Prefecture

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:35 JST, August 24, 2022

Crape myrtles bloom in pink, purple, red and white in the Towa Sarusuberi-en flower park in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. Some 10,000 plantings of about 20 varieties of crape myrtle — called sarusuberi in Japanese — cover a roughly four-hectare slope in the park. Hiroichi Otsuki, 76, built the garden using a mountain slope behind his home and unused mulberry fields. In some years, the varieties bloom in different periods, but this year’s climate conditions have set the trees up for a coordinated bloom, making it the perfect time for a visit. The prime viewing period will last until around mid-September. Admission is ¥400.