Golden Week – Nemophila festivals

   Every spring, people in Japan look forward to Golden Week. This year, Golden Week officially ran from April 29 to May 5. It included four official national holidays;

・April 29: Showa Day – This day commemorates the birthday of the late Showa Emperor Hirohito.

・May 3: Constitution Memorial Day – A day to celebrate the Japanese constitution, which began on May 3, 1947.

・May 4: Greenery Day – This is a day to reflect upon the connection between nature and humanity.

・May 5: Children’s Day – This day celebrates children’s health, happiness, and individuality. On Children’s Day, colorful carp streamers can be seen across Japan.

   So what events were popular in Kansai during this year’s Golden Week? As always, Universal Studios Japan and other theme parks were popular among families and young groups of friends. Of course, many tourists and Japanese people alike visited such famous Kyoto landmarks as Arashiyama, Kiyomizu-dera and Kinkaku-ji. However, this year another attraction seems to have become increasingly popular, and that attraction is ‘nemophila’「ネモフィラ」.

   Nemophila are beautiful blue flowers that bloom in spring. They are native to North America but can also be widely seen throughout Japan at this time of year. During this Golden Week, the two most popular places to view nemophila were at the Osaka Maishima Seaside Park festival and TeamLab’s Botanical Garden in Nagai, Osaka.

   The Osaka Maishima Seaside Park festival ran during the daytime from April 7th to May 7^th.  As well as being surrounded by beautiful blue flowers, visitors could cool off with blue soft cream and other treats.

     Conversely, visitors to TeamLab’s Botanical Garden could enjoy a fascinating illuminated display in the evening. The flowers glowed brightly under the lights and even emitted sounds when people stopped near them. It was a fascinating combination of nature and technology.