Early May 2026
Visiting Musashi Kyuryo National Government Park
I like lupines. The kind of lupines that look like upside-down wisteria flowers, stretching upward toward the sky. In the mobile game Pokémon Sleep, there are flowers blooming around Lapis Lakeside, and I suspect those are supposed to be lupines too, although the design is stylized enough that I cannot say for certain.
That said, while I like lupines, my partner likes them even more. He likes them enough to buy them at home improvement stores and grow them in the flower bed. Actually, he likes them enough to collect the seeds after the flowers are gone and sow them again the following year. In other words, he is overwhelmingly more obsessed with lupines than I am.
Toward the end of April, a post showing a field of lupines at peak bloom appeared on my social media timeline. I shared it with my partner, and naturally the response was, “I want to go.” So on our next day off, we headed to Musashi Kyuryo National Government Park to see the flowers.
We got off at Tobu Tojo Line Forest Park Station, the nearest station to the park, then took a bus from the north exit and got off at “Shinrin Koen Nishiguchi” (Forest Park West Gate).
There was a ticket machine at the west entrance, and admission was 450 yen per adult, cash only.
The Stunning Nemophila Field
The very first thing we saw after entering through the west gate was a vast field of sky-blue nemophila flowers.
It was unbelievably beautiful.
We had come for the lupines, but the nemophila stole our hearts immediately. Not long after entering the park, we both thought the same thing: coming here had absolutely been the right decision.
It was an extremely hot day, so we took a short break near the nemophila field and bought soft serve ice cream and sports drinks from a nearby stand.
Lupines, Poppies, and Lunch
After resting for a bit, we headed toward the “Komorebi Flower Field,” where the lupines were planted. Even at an adult walking pace, it took us about thirty minutes to get there. It was our first time visiting the park, and we were honestly surprised by how enormous it was.
When we finally arrived at the Komorebi Flower Field, seeing the vast spread of blooming lupines was definitely moving. But perhaps because we were already tired from walking, or because the nemophila field had left such a strong impression, or maybe because the entire flower field was slightly shaded just as the name “Komorebi” suggests, the emotional impact felt a bit more subdued compared to the nemophila field. Still, it was genuinely beautiful, and I was glad we came.
After that, we moved to the central restaurant for lunch. The pizza there was surprisingly authentic—generously topped, with fluffy dough and a nicely browned crust. I ordered something called “Swamp Pizza” purely because the name caught my attention, and it turned out to be a curry-flavored pizza with a swamp-like green color. To be fair, there really are quite a few green ponds and marshes scattered around the park.
After each eating an entire pizza, we waddled over to the poppy fields with completely overstuffed stomachs. The red and pink poppies were in full bloom and looked gorgeous. Poppies have such thin stems and oversized flower heads that they seem as though a strong gust of wind could snap them in half at any moment, which makes them oddly nerve-racking to look at. But the colors of the petals are so bright and cheerful that they somehow make me feel energized. I like them a lot.
Reflections on Our Visit
On the way back, we walked to the south gate and took a bus back to Forest Park Station. Our first visit to the park was a very positive experience overall: the flower fields, the huge trees, the birds singing everywhere, and even the massive pizzas were all memorable. Still, the park is so enormous that we completely exhausted ourselves walking around, and on the ride home my partner and I agreed that we probably should have rented bicycles from the cycling center inside the park.
A Brief Stop in Kawagoe
On the way back from the park, we stopped briefly in Kawagoe. But since we were already tired, we only visited Toki no Kane before heading home. The main street of Kawagoe was crowded with traffic, and the sidewalks felt quite narrow, so I ended up with the impression that it was not the easiest place to explore in a relaxed way.
