The Japanese Iris Garden

Inside Kamo Garden, this one-hectare iris garden holds over 600 varieties of Japanese iris, with around 500,000 bulbs hand-planted and replaced each year. Peak bloom runs from late April through June, filling the space with soft purples and whites. Family legend says the original irises arrived from Iwadeyama Castle in northern Japan during the early Edo period, carried by a noblewoman who believed they would ward off misfortune in marriage. During World War II, most of the garden was converted to food production and later restored to its current form by the Kamo family.