Date: 6th July 2018

The hydrangea season was probably coming to an end when I visited Fuchu-shi Kyodo no Mori Museum (府中市郷土の森博物館), hoping to see some last hydrangeas since their Ajisai Matsuri was still going on. Fuchu is a city of the Tokyo Metropolis, located a little west to central Tokyo. Never heard of it till I came here this summer.

Kyodo no Mori is a large park which includes various flower gardens, old buildings from the Edo / Showa period in the concept of an open-air museum, an exhibition museum and even a planetarium.

Lets now look at these buildings! First is the former Fuchu primary school, built in 1935.

Next to the merchant houses!

Opposite is the former Tanaka home, a merchant from the Fuchu-shuku post town on the Koshu Kaido (not to be confused with the one in Shizuoka). Emperor Meiji has also stopped by this house before and inside there are displays of where the Emperor stayed too.

There was a Japanese garden and teahouse behind, I could not help but to explore around.

There are former farmhouses here too with thatched roofs.

The park is said to have over 10,000 hydrangeas of over 30 varieties, blooming from end of May to early July. It was already the end of the season, so I saw more dying hyrangeas. I will leave links to some other blogs / sites that managed to capture the hydrangeas at its peak.

Kyodo no Mori also boasts over 60 kinds, 1000 plum trees which typically blooms around February to mid March. Similar to the Ajisai Matsuri, the park holds the Ume Matsuri during the plum blossoms season.

There is also a water playground and for some reason a pre-historic animal here.

Be sure to allocate at least 2 hours if you are planning to visit this park as it is really huge, especially if you are planning to visit the planetarium. I did not have enough time to completely explore the whole park, so will be interested to visit again probably during the plum blossoms season.

Info

Admission fee: 300 yen (museum only), 900 yen (museum & planetarium)

Opening hours: 09:00 – 17:00

Closing days:

• Mondays, or next day if Monday is a Public Holiday
• New Year’s Holiday

Official Website

Planetarium Info:

There are typically two projections a day, while the other time slots are usually children-special or other special events. Check out the official site’s planetarium page before you go as the scheduled projections change every season.

Further reading:

• Hydrangea Festival in Kyodo no Mori – Good Luck Trip Japan
• Fuchu Travel Spots – Japan Australia

Access

From Bubaigawara Station:

• Bus:
  • Fuchu Community Bus, Chuu Bus (Every 30 mins, Ride for 5 mins, 100 yen), Stop at Minamimachi Nichome, from there it is a 4-min walk to the park
  • Keio Bus 52 (Every 30 mins, Ride for 6 mins, 180 yen)
  • Walk 20 mins, 1.6km

From Fuchu Station:

• Bus: Fuchu Community Bus, Chuu Bus (Every 30 mins, Ride for 15 mins, 100 yen), Stop at Minamimachi Nichome, from there it is a 4-min walk to the park
• Walk 30 mins, 2.3km

From Fuchu-hommachi Station:

• Bus:
  • Walk 3 mins to Honcho Nichome Bus Stop, take Fuchu Community Bus, Chuu Bus (Every 30 mins, Ride for 10 mins, 100 yen) Stop at Minamimachi Nichome, from there it is a 4-min walk to the park
  • Walk 10 mins to Musashifuchuzeimusho, take Keio Bus 52 (Every 30 mins, Ride for 5 mins, 180 yen)
• Walk 17 mins, 1.3km

Getting to the above train stations:

• Bubaigawara Station:
  • From Shinjuku Station, 22 mins, 280 yen on the Keio Line
  • From Kawasaki Station, 36-45 mins, 470 yen on the JR Nambu Line
• Fuchu Station: From Shinjuku Station, 20-25 mins, 280 yen on the Keio Line
• Fuchu-hommachi Station
  • From Kawasaki Station, 34-44 mins, 470 yen on the JR Nambu Line
  • Also serves the JR Musashino Line