Gunma Flower Park+ in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, reopened in fall 2025 under the concept "Enjoy! Playing with Flowers." From July 18 (Saturday) to September 4 (Friday), 2026, the park is holding its "NATURALISTIC GARDEN FAIR."
This is the park's first summer vacation season since its renewal, and to help families make the most of it, admission for children is completely free from July 18 (Saturday) to August 31 (Monday), the same period the park's water-play area is open.
During that stretch, the park is packed with content built around kids, including "Jabujabu Pond," a water-play area where a powerful "bubble bazooka" bursts every Saturday and Sunday, a one-day "free research" program designed to knock out a chunk of summer homework, a "Kids' Job Experience Pass," and a two-day special night opening during the Obon holiday called the "Cool Summer Night Festival: Flower Hour."
There is plenty for adults to enjoy too. As the park's scenic naturalistic garden of herbs and perennials reaches its peak, visitors can join free flower events featuring arrangement demonstrations and talks with growers, plus indulgent peach-based sweets.
Over 13,000 Plants Led by Sunflowers in Yellow and Blue
The park's main flower garden is in peak bloom, split into east and west sides that play off each other in color for maximum visual impact.
Together, the two sides hold more than 13,000 plants, led by sunflowers, forming an overwhelming wall of yellow and blue summer color. Sun-bright sunflowers and rudbeckia stand out against cool blue salvia, creating a striking contrast beneath the summer sky.
The east garden is filled with five varieties of sunflowers, the stars of summer, each with its own charm to discover.
The west garden blends a dense planting of rudbeckia with refined blue salvia, producing a vivid blue-and-yellow combination set against the summer sky.
Kids Free: "Jabujabu Pond" Water-Play Area Fully Opens, with a Content-Packed Opening Event
"Jabujabu Pond," a water-play area marking the start of summer, opens for a limited time. Beyond cool showers and fountains, every Saturday and Sunday brings "bubble time," when a powerful "bubble bazooka" wraps the pond in bubbles. Free changing rooms and paid rental water shoes are available, making it easy for kids and families to enjoy the water in comfort.
Jabujabu Pond open period: July 18 (Saturday) to August 31 (Monday)
Bubble time: Every Saturday and Sunday during the period, 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM and 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Three Days Only: A Content-Packed Jabujabu Pond Opening Event
July 18 (Saturday)
A bubble show sends a dreamlike sea of bubbles across the park, with free play time for bubbles in between.
- 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM: Bubble time
- 11:00 AM – 11:15 AM: Bubble show
- 1:00 PM – 1:15 PM: Bubble show
- 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Bubble time
- 3:00 PM – 3:15 PM: Bubble show
July 19 (Sunday)
Colorful balls and flower-petal-filled balls float in the pond for a picture-perfect water-play scene.
- 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM: Flower ball pool
- 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM: Bubble time
- 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Bubble time
July 20 (Monday, holiday)
A treasure hunt in Jabujabu Pond that kids will love.
- 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM: Treasure hunt
- 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM: Bubble time
- 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Bubble time
Wrap Up a Day's Worth of Summer Homework: Free Research and Kids' Job Experiences
Get Hooked as a Family: Summer Research Events and Activities
Nighttime Bug Hunt (July 26 (Sunday) and August 1 (Saturday))
Why is this insect here? Why is it active at night? Visitors walk the park observing insects and other nocturnal creatures while learning about the environment they share with them. (10:00 AM – 8:00 PM; participation fee ¥1,500)
Science of Light and Color Class (August 3 (Monday))
Find out what really gives leaves their color.
Extract photosynthetic pigments and build a paper-cup spectroscope.
A hands-on experiment extracting photosynthetic pigments from plant leaves teaches what photosynthesis actually is. (11:00 AM and 1:00 PM; participation fee ¥500)
Flower Pigment Experiment (August 8 (Saturday), 9 (Sunday), 15 (Saturday), and 16 (Sunday))
What's the relationship between plants and their environment? What kinds of pigments do flowers contain?
Use flowers to investigate natural pigments.
Participants run a pigment experiment using plants from the park and try their hand at flower-pounding dye art. (participation fee ¥1,000)
A Bargain Under ¥500: The "Summer Vacation Kids' Job Experience Pass" (August 8 (Saturday) to August 16 (Sunday))
A special program letting kids try out real jobs at the park. Complete every job and receive a certificate of completion.
"Restaurant Staff Experience": taking orders and making an original shaved ice
"Become a Shop Staffer": caring for flowers for sale and practicing customer service
"Junior Wildlife Researcher": using a kids' camera to search the park for living creatures
"Activity Job Experience": gathering the flowers used as materials for workshops
"Junior PR Experience": making the park's original flyer and handing it out
Kids Free, Adults Just ¥500 After 5:00 PM: The Two-Day-Only "Cool Summer Night Festival: Flower Hour"
For two days only, August 15 (Saturday) and 16 (Sunday), the park holds special hours for its cool summer night festival.
Beyond free admission for kids, these two days bring special night hours from 1:00 PM to 8:30 PM, with admission dropping to ¥500 for adults from 5:00 PM onward. Visitors can spend a summer evening with family in the flower fields as dusk falls.
A Variety of Content
- A mini live music performance in the dusk flower fields
- Limited-time dishes at the "Evening Cool-Down Garden Lounge"
- "Bonfire Grilling," where visitors cook their own food over the fire
- A "night market" of pinball, shooting games, and other festival stalls
- Limited-time activities including a glowing flower-scooping game and fan-making
- Handheld fireworks time
Yukata Bonus
Enjoy fireworks together with everyone. Visitors who come in yukata receive complimentary fireworks.
A Grown-Up Summer for Flower Lovers
A true naturalistic garden
In the Minamo area and the Flower Hall Garden, an abundance of herbs, perennials, and ornamental grasses come into their own natural beauty in harmony with each other, reaching peak bloom. It's a place to forget the busyness of daily life and take a stroll that soothes the senses.
While the naturalistic garden is at its best, the park also hosts a special talk stage with a globally recognized flower grower, a free arrangement experience, and an afternoon tea featuring indulgent peach sweets.
A Special Day to Get Closer to Flowers: "Flower Friendly Day" (August 22 (Saturday))
Sato Engei Talk Show (10:30 AM – 11:30 AM)
A special talk show with Sato Engei, a grower immensely popular with gardening fans nationwide for its pansies and violas.
Free Arrangement Lesson (1:00 PM – 2:00 PM / 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM)
A professional florist leads a free arrangement lesson, offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
Herb, Peach, and Muscat Afternoon Tea Retreat
The Minamo Terrace multipurpose hall hosts a limited-run, indulgent afternoon tea starring refreshing summer herbs alongside peaches and muscat grapes at the peak of their season.
The retreat option adds a bouquet-making session led directly by a florist, using sunflowers and herbs, on top of the afternoon tea.
Afternoon tea dates: August 22 (Saturday), 29 (Saturday), and 30 (Sunday)
Retreat: August 23 (Sunday) only
Gunma Flower Park+ Facility Overview
Address: 2471-7 Kashiwakuramachi, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture 371-0246
Access: About 30 minutes by car from Isesaki IC on the Kita-Kanto Expressway (toward Maebashi/Shibukawa), or about 30 minutes by car from Akagi IC on the Kanetsu Expressway (toward Maebashi/Akagi)
Site area: 182,260.14 square meters
Event name: NATURALISTIC GARDEN FAIR
Event period: July 18 (Saturday) to September 4 (Friday), 2026 (Jabujabu Pond open period: July 18 (Saturday) to August 31 (Monday))
Hours: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (on August 15 (Saturday) and 16 (Sunday), hours extend to 1:00 PM – 8:30 PM, with special events from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM)
Closed days: Every Tuesday (open as a special exception on August 11 (Tuesday) for Obon; closed as a special exception on August 12 (Wednesday) and 21 (Friday))
Admission: Adults ¥900 / Children (elementary and junior high school students) ¥300 / Pets ¥200 / Preschool children free
- From July 18 to August 31: children's admission (elementary and junior high school students) is completely free.
- On August 15 and 16, from 5:00 PM: adults ¥500 (children remain free throughout the period).
Website: https://www.flower-park.jp/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gunmaflowerpark_official/
