From fields of colourful tulips to a sea of blue nemophila, the sprawling Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki has something to see every season. In summer, the park starts growing kochia, or summer cypress. These fluffy little bushes look like something out of a Dr Seuss book.
Scaled up for 2025, there are now approximately 40,000 kochia bushes growing at the park’s Miharashi no Oka Hill area, covering roughly 2.3 hectares.
During summer, the bushes are in a fresh, vibrant green colour, but come autumn, they'll turn brilliant red.
These 'fur balls' have already started to change colour. The best time to see them in their full red glory is from mid-October. Later into the month, they'll start to take on a dusty golden hue.
Currently, the green bushes have just started to turn red and will be at peak viewing from October 18 to October 26. You can keep tabs on this year’s kochia colours forecast via Hitachi Seaside Park’s website.
The kochia plants changing colour coincides with the annual Kochia Carnival, which is also showcasing gorgeous red and pink cosmos flowers on the lower sections of Miharashi no Oka Hill. The carnival runs until October 31.
The park is roughly two hours from Tokyo Station. See the park’s website for information on how to get there.
This article was published on August 18 2022 and updated on October 3 2025.
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