Azaleas in Full Bloom at Hakone Gardens; View of Mt. Fuji to Accompany Beautiful Flowers

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:52 JST, May 6, 2024

HAKONE, Kanagawa — Colorful azaleas are blooming in the gardens of the Odakyu Hotel de Yama in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The gardens were built when the hotel was still the villa of Koyata Iwasaki (1879-1945), the fourth president of the Mitsubishi conglomerate. They are home to about 3,000 azalea plants of 84 different types, including Edo kirishima and 29 other old varieties.

On Sunday, pink, white and vermilion azalea flowers decorated the gardens against the backdrop of snowcapped Mt. Fuji under clear skies.

“I’m happy to see the magnificent flowers and the mountain,” said a 79-year-old woman from Tokyo who visited the gardens on a bus tour.

According to the hotel, the flowers will be at their peak bloom until around May 15. The entrance fee to the gardens is ¥1,000.