Gunma Flower Park Temporarily Closes for Renovation

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:00 JST, April 16, 2023

MAEBASHI — A botanical park in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, has temporarily closed to the public so it can undergo renovation.

Staff at Kaneko Seeds Gunma Flower Park, owned by the prefectural government, bid the final visitors farewell on March 19. The park is set to reopen in April 2025 after work on the facilities and flower beds is completed.

The 18.2-hectare flower park opened in 1992. The facility has large flower beds, a Japanese-style garden and greenhouses. The number of annual visitors peaked in fiscal 1992 at 890,000 before decreasing to 190,000 in 2021. Gunma Flower Kanri, a landscaping company in Maebashi, is currently entrusted by the prefecture to operate and manage the flower park. The park makes almost no profit, but management fees paid by the prefecture are about ¥170 million every year. The prefecture decided to renovate the facility in a bid to attract more visitors and increase profit.

Various events were held on the final day of opening, attracting many visitors. Events included a tropical fish exhibition and a penguin display.

“This is a rare facility where I can come with pets, so it’s a pity we can’t visit for a while,” said Goro Mikuni, 52, who visited from Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, with his family.

According to a plan presented by the prefecture, renovation work will include creating graduated layers of elevation for the large flower beds to give them a spatial effect and tripling the number of rose plants to 5,000. The on-site restaurant and greenhouses will also see improvements, and there will be a new program for selling food products that use the park’s own recipes.

Nature appreciation events will also be held. Admission to the park will be raised to ¥1,000, and authorities hope to attract at least 350,000 visitors annually after reopening.