Wisteria Tunnel

The spectacular view of the pastel-colored passageway of wisteria flowers at Kawachi Fuji Gardens, in Kitakyushu, Japan is truly a fairytale setting, a place you would never want to leave. This enchanting tunnel exploding with colour is known as Wisteria Tunnel where the flowering Japanese wisteria known as fuji in Japan hang overhead and the different colored rows create a spectacular place to walk through. The gardens are located about a 4-hour drive away from Tokyo. the best visiting time to explore the beautiuful Wisteria Tunnel is Between April to May, At this time of the year, the wisteria flowers are in full bloom. Moreover, an annual Wisteria Festival, also known as Fuji Matsuri, is hosted on April 27-29 to offer additional festivities in the gardens. To get to the garden from JR Yahata station, take Nishitetsu bus 56 and get off at Kawachi Elementary School. Then, it is a 10-15 min walk to the garden.

Kawachi Fuji Garden is home to about 150 Wisteria flowering plants spanning 20 different species white, blue, purple, violet-blue and pink. The Wisteria Tunnel is an example of using living trees as an part of a structure, a practice sometimes referred to as arbortecture. Wisteria is one of the most beautiful climbing plants. It is a large deciduous climber with a hard woody stem. Easily trained, the woody vines tend to reach maturity within a few years, at which point they bloom in cascades of long, lavender flowers of ying pastel shades.

Once in the gardens, many visitors experience an overwhelming zen-like peace and calmness. Its no wonder that wisteria is an important symbol for Buddhists, representing prayer and reaching out to the divine. These metaphors are mostly inspired by the spiraling shape and manner that the flower grows, sometimes reaching as high as 65.6 ft above the ground. Wisteria Tunnel is an amazing place to visit at least once in your lifetime and enjoy the joy of nature.