Uji City Botanical Gardens (宇治市植物公園)

Uji City Botanical Gardens are located in Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture. In a total area of ten hectares, thirty two hundred plants of fourteen hundred and fifty species are grown. Various exhibitions focused on plants are held at twenty five times a year including Sanyaso (plants growing wild in fields and mountains,) nuts, river orchids, etc.

Opening hours

9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (admission until 4:00 p.m.)
As of April 2008

Holidays

Mondays (the following day if it is a national holiday)
December 28 - January 4
As of April 2008

Admission fee

Adults (high school students and older): Five hundred yen

Children (elementary and junior high school students): Two hundred and fifty yen

Children under elementary school age: Free

Discounts available for a group of thirty visitors and more

As of April 2008

Plants in the garden

Field plants: Eight hundred species

Tall trees: Twenty four hundred trees of a hundred species

Short or mid-height trees: Eight hundred trees of ninety species

Short-height tree group planting: Thirty species, thirty eight hundred square meters

Hedges: Seventy species, four hundred meters length

Ground cover plants: A hundred species, thirty seven hundred square meters

Flowerbeds: Seventy species, eighteen hundred square meters

Roses: Twenty four species, two hundred square meters

Herbs: A hundred and forty species, eight hundred square meters

Water plants: Two hundred and ten species

Lawn: Twenty five thousand three hundred square meters

Greenhouse plants: Six hundred and fifty species

Tall trees: Forty three species

Short-height trees and underbush: Two hundred and eighty seven species

Kaki flowering plants: Three hundred and twenty species

Numbers are as of April 2008.

Shukei-ike Pond

Using flood control reservoirs, rabbitear irises, iris pseudacoruss, purple loosestrifes, etc. are grown there, providing a rich and colorful waterscape in summer.

Flowerbed and flowering tree zone

Seasonally blooming flowers are grown in the Gardens, and plums, prunus iannesianas, roses, crape myrtles, etc. will bloom over the period from early spring to summer, providing glorious scenery.

Tanada (terraced fields)

Japanese traditional terraced rice fields were reproduced to grow cluster amaryllis, daffodils, etc., providing an opportunity to enjoy the flower gardens at a high elevation.

Hekisen (water outlet constructed on a wall), Canal, Hana no hiroba (Flower Plaza)

The coniferous forest and flowerbeds stretch on the both sides of the stream (Canal) from Hekisen to Flower and Water Tapestry, following which Hana no hiroba (Flower Plaza) is exhibited. The pond, cascade and tapestries come together at Hana no hiroba, and there is a floating stage in the pond to hold concerts, events and so on.

Flower and Water Tapestry

They are the face of the Gardens, and themes or characters related to Uji City are formed using plants and flowers. It is composed of 3,675 pots placed on the terraced garden (46 tiers) of 62 meters in width and 18 meters in height and features seasonally blooming flowers.

Herb garden

The 140 kinds of herbs useful for medicines, seasonings, restoration, insect deterrents, aromatic odors, etc. and used in our daily lives are displayed.

Uji City's treasure trees

Three virgin tea trees selected and determined in Uji are on display.

Red pine forest

Short-height trees such as Pourthiaea villosa and ilexes and ground cover plants such as low bamboos are also grown there, featuring the red pine forest with atmosphere. Wild chrysanthemums collected from various places in Japan are displayed near the red pine forest.

Quercus serrata forest

In addition to the basic scenery of the thicket composed of Quercus serratas, oaks, etc., Nanking cherries (prunus tomentosa,) euonymus oxyphyllus, balloonflowers (bellflowers,) etc. are also grown, providing a scenery full of rustic atmosphere.

Maple forest

In addition to various kinds of maple trees, euonymus sieboldianuses, callicarpa japonicas, ardisia crenatas, etc. are grown in the forest, creating a scene of the splendor and colore of autumn. There is a Chatei (rest house) by the pond, decorated with Chabana (flowers appropriate for tea ceremonies or tea house), and it features a calm and Japanese-style feeling.

Plants related to the Tale of Genji

Based on Uji Jujo (last ten chapters of the Tale of Genji,) the plants appearing in the Tale of Genji are grown and monuments engraved with waka poems are installed in the Gardens to create an atmosphere in which visitors can imagine scenes in the story.

Plants presented from sister cities

Sri Lanka, Nuwara Elliya/Carissa and other six species

People's Republic of China, Xianyang City/Hydrangeabretschneideri, Gleditsia heterophylla and other three species

Canaka, Kamloops/Ponderosa pine and other five species

Numbers and display information are as of April 2008.

Access

Take a bus at Uji Station (JR West), Keihan Uji Station (Keihan), or Kinki Nippon Railway Okubo Station (Kyoto Prefecture) and get off at Shokubutu Koen (the botanical park) stop after an approximately ten minute ride.