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Shiramazu Flower Fields

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Shiramazuflower pickingBoso Flower LineMinamibosowinter flowers

Photo: 掬茶 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · original

Shiramazu Flower Fields looks different depending on the season, the weather, and the time of day — none of which a single photo can tell you.

The southern tip of the Boso peninsula is warm enough that flowers grow outdoors through the winter, and the coast road along it is called the Boso Flower Line for that reason. At Shiramazu, in Chikura, the fields run right up to the sea wall, and from January to March — when the rest of Honshu is frozen — they are full of poppies, calendula, stock and snapdragons.

What makes it worth stopping rather than driving past is that you can pick them. The growers open the fields to visitors and charge by the stem or the bunch, a few hundred yen, and you walk out with an armful of flowers cut yourself in February. It is entirely ordinary here and completely counterintuitive to anyone who has just come down from Tokyo in a coat. Parking is free and there are thirty spaces.

Before you go

Access hours

Generally 9:00 AM until dusk | Hours differ by farm

Closed: Picking season runs approximately January–March

Entry fee

Flower picking charged by stem or bunch, typically a few hundred yen | Free parking for around 30 cars

Best time to visit

January–March for outdoor winter flowers and picking

Time to allow

45–60 minutes

Access route

Getting there in detail

Shiramazu, Chikura-cho, Minamiboso, on Route 410 along the coast. Car recommended. Flower picking runs from around January to March, generally from 9:00 AM until dusk, with hours differing by farm. Picking charges vary by flower and quantity and are typically a few hundred yen. Free parking for around 30 cars. Minamiboso tourist association Chikura office.

Local knowledge

**January to March is the season, and that is the point.** Outdoor flowers in mid-winter, forty minutes from the Aqua-Line. Outside those months there is not much to pick. **Prices are per stem, and cheap.** A few hundred yen buys a substantial bunch. Bring cash and be prepared to be handed scissors. **Each field is a different business.** Hours and charges vary farm to farm along the same stretch of road. Walk a couple before committing. **Drive the Flower Line.** Route 410 along the southern coast links the flower fields, and doing the drive rather than stopping at one field is how locals treat it. **Transporting them is your problem.** An armful of cut flowers on a train to Tokyo is awkward. Most people are driving, which is what the free parking implies.

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