(3) Entering the Begonia Garden
You can enter Nabana no Sato simply by saying your name and the official hotel you are staying at. The staff at the entrance gate will have a guest list. When you enter they will also give you a ticket for Begonia Garden. You can enter Nabana no Sato as many times as you like on the same day and the next day, but you can only enter Begonia Garden once. This time, on the first day, we will enter twice during the day and at night, so I don't think we will enter again the next day. When you enter the village, leave your luggage in the locker and start walking. There are many restaurants and souvenir shops. The specialty is a long, thin rice cake with red bean paste inside, and you can see them baking. We arrived here in lunchtime, and I was too lazy to think what to eat, so we went to a soba restaurant, and it was delicious.
My mother and I were completely in the mood of flower viewing since we just went to the flower market outside. We immediately entered the begonia greenhouse.
I came to this greenhouse without any prior knowledge, so I was very impressed. Until now, my image of begonia was only "plants that grow quickly if I cut the stem and stick it in the soil." I learned for the first time that there are so many variations and ways to grow begonia.
These are truly gorgeous. Large chrysanthemum-like begonia flowers are lined up. Perhaps because it's lunch time on weekdays, there are more staff taking care of the plants than guests. In the largest greenhouse we were the only guests.
There is an open cafe here. We enjoyed a feast of flowers while having drinks in the center of the reserved greenhouse. Many large pots are hung from the ceiling, and the flowers are reflected on the surface of the pond.
This pond near the exit is named "Looking Back Pond". If you turn around before you leave the greenhouse, you will see the most beautiful scenery in the greenhouse. Here, I took a picture that could be used for advertisement and left the Begonia Garden. The only regret is that we couldn’t visit their rose garden area due to the off season.
After that, I checked how the illumination looks during the day. Just thinking about what these things are going to be like at night makes me excited. It was good to take a walk because now I know where to go and what to see when I come back at night. I'm also curious about the mysterious rotating observatory on which Mt. Fuji (?) was on. At the souvenir shop, I also checked out what I would buy later.
I didn't really think about how to get to the hotel from Nabana no Sato. (I was thinking to used a taxi.) Luckily, I happened to find the "official hotel guest exclusive shuttle bus stop" just outside the exit, so I rode it to the hotel. I wonder if there was information about such a bus somewhere.
Begonia Garden / Nabana no Sato Photo Gallery
Please visit my glass jewelry shop from the link below.