Colorful chrysanthemums give new life to former tobacco field in Fukushima

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:20 JST, November 10, 2022

Visitors to Kiku no Sato Tokiwa chrysanthemum garden view rows of chrysanthemum shrubs in full bloom in Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture. The about 3,000 shrubs are nicknamed “zarugiku,” meaning chrysanthemums shaped like an upside-down round bamboo basket. Each shrub can bear several thousand small flowers. The garden is a former tobacco field that was idled after the 2011 nuclear disaster at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. A farmer in Tamura started growing chrysanthemums in the field in 2013 and gradually expanded the cultivation area. The garden has become Fukushima’s largest chrysanthemum-viewing spot, with daily visitors sometimes totaling 500. The flowers can best be viewed through mid-November.