Nabana no Sato Illumination 2026–27: Dates, Tickets and Getting There From Nagoya

What Is Nabana no Sato?

Nabana no Sato is a flower park in Nagashima-cho, Kuwana City (Kuwana-shi), in Mie Prefecture, just across the prefectural border from Nagoya. It is run by Nagashima Resort, the group behind the Nagashima Spa Land amusement park nearby.

By day it is a flower garden: seasonal flowers in the open fields, a plum garden, a huge begonia greenhouse, a pond and restaurants. From mid-October to late May the whole park becomes the Nabana no Sato winter illumination, which started in 2004 and is now in its 23rd year. It isn't a temple garden, a historic site or wild nature, and it is no ordinary string of lights: it is a designed show on a huge scale.

The Nabana no Sato Winter Illumination: What You'll See

As the sun sets, LED bulbs transform the gardens into a twinkling wonderland. There are four main parts, and each scene is a short walk from the next.

The Tunnel of Light

The most photographed spot is the Hana Kairo, a 200-meter tunnel of light with a ceiling of warm LED lights. It is the most famous of the park's vibrant light tunnels, and the busiest. Walk it when you arrive, and again late in the evening when it is quieter.

River of Light and the Pond

The park bills its River of Light as one of Japan's largest water illuminations. The main pond is lit too — lines of light across the water, trees glowing along the banks — and the stunning water reflections are half the beauty of it.

The Main Theme Area

The main attraction is the theme area, which changes every year: a vast field of LED lights and a dazzling light show — an animated light show with music. Last winter's theme, ZIPANGU, was built around a Mount Fuji of light about 35 meters tall. The 2026–27 theme had not been announced when we checked on 24 September 2026.

Island Fuji Observation Tower

For the view from above, Island Fuji lifts you 45 meters and turns a full circle, and the view over the illumination is fantastic. The ride takes about 7 minutes and costs ¥800 for adults (¥500 for children from 3 to elementary-school age), on top of admission.

Nabana no Sato Illumination 2026–27: Dates and Opening Hours

• Season: 17 October 2026 – 31 May 2027.
• Closed: 6 and 7 January 2027.
• Opening hours: 10:00–21:00, and to 22:00 on some days — so far, weekends and holidays. Entry closes 30 minutes before closing. The calendar from December has not been published yet.
• Christmas (23–25 December): Nabana no Sato opens only from 15:00, to 22:00 on the 23rd and 23:00 on the 24th and 25th, with a date-specific ticket.

The illumination comes on at dusk, so the time moves through the winter and spring:

Nabana no Sato Tickets and Prices

There is one price for everyone of elementary-school age and up; younger children are free. Every ticket includes a ¥1,000 voucher for the restaurants and shops and entry to the begonia greenhouse. New this year, the gate window costs ¥200 more than a convenience-store ticket until the end of February.

Buy at FamilyMart or 7-Eleven, or as an e-ticket on Asoview — you can buy on the day of your visit. It is worth it: buying at the gate can take more than 30 minutes on busy evenings.

For Christmas, a joint release from Nabana no Sato, Kintetsu and Sanco in September gives ¥5,000 with a ¥2,000 voucher and no gate sales, but the official pages still list the price as under review. If you will be there on 23–25 December, buy as soon as it goes on sale — those are the busiest nights of the illumination event.

How to Get to Nabana no Sato From Nagoya

Direct Bus From Meitetsu Bus Center

The simplest way. Buses leave from platform 22, on the 4th floor of the bus center next to Nagoya Station, and take 35 minutes to the gate. It costs ¥1,200 one way or ¥2,400 return (children half), with no advance sales. There is no standing, so if a bus is full you wait for the next. The last bus back leaves at 21:05 on the current timetable.

Kintetsu Train to Nagashima Station, Then the Bus

Take the Kintetsu Nagoya Line to Kintetsu-Nagashima Station — about 25 minutes by semi-express, or 17 minutes by express on weekends and holidays from 31 Oct to 11 Jan and on 23–25 December, when expresses make an extra stop. From Nagashima station, a Sanco bus takes about 10 minutes (¥250). Kintetsu sells a set ticket from Kintetsu Nagoya with the round trip, the bus, admission and the ¥1,000 voucher for ¥3,670 or ¥4,170 depending on the date (not sold for 23–25 December).

There is no station at Nabana no Sato itself: walking from Nagashima station is about 2 km, 25 minutes.

By Car

There are 5,700 free parking spaces, but traffic is heavy on peak evenings. If you have a car, go on a weekday.

By Day: The Flower Park, Begonia Garden and Seasonal Flowers

Don't arrive after dark. Get there at around 15:00 and you see the beauty of the flower park in daylight, then watch the green lawns and flower beds come to life as the lights go on. That change is the best part of visiting.

The Begonia Garden, billed as Japan's largest, is a 9,000 m² greenhouse of hanging begonias and other flowers in bloom year round. It is included in your ticket, and it is a good place to warm up on a January night.

Outside, the seasonal flowers change month by month, so your dates decide what you see alongside the lights. The plum garden has about 330 weeping plum trees, lit up after dark with a quiet elegance.

Beer, Food and Hot Springs

Spend your voucher at the Nagashima Beer Garden (Nagashima Beer-en), a brewery restaurant that makes German-style craft beer on site. The beer garden is the natural place to warm up between light shows. There are other restaurants and cafés too; the voucher works at most of them but not at some ticket machines.

There is also a day-use hot spring, Sato no Yu, with outdoor baths surrounded by flowers. It costs ¥1,300 on top of admission, and towels are included, so you can go empty-handed.

The rest of Nagashima Resort's facilities are nearby: Nagashima Spa Land, an amusement park known for its big roller coasters; Yuami-no-shima, a hot spring with 17 kinds of baths; and the Jazz Dream Nagashima outlet mall. A day of rides or a long soak, with the lights by night, works well.

When to Arrive and How Long to Stay

Visitors pile up just before the lights come on, and weekends and holidays are the busiest, with Japanese families and couples out in force. Nabana no Sato itself says the quietest times to arrive are before 16:00 or after 19:00; on peak days — weekends around Christmas, Golden Week, and the weekends when the flowers are at their best — aim for 15:00.

Allow three to four hours for the gardens at dusk, the tunnel, the pond, the theme area and dinner. The lights don't run all night long: they go off at closing time. The buses back to Nagoya fill up near the end, and there is no standing, so leave a little early rather than aim for the 21:05.

Visiting Nabana no Sato on a Self-Guided Trip

Nagoya is the natural base: it is on the Shinkansen between Tokyo and Kyoto, and the bus leaves from beside Nagoya Station. These routes of ours have a free evening in Nagoya, which is exactly what you need during the illumination season. Prices are per person; admission to Nabana no Sato is paid on the spot.

On these routes you reach Nagoya by Shinkansen in the morning, with your large luggage sent ahead. That leaves the afternoon for Nagoya Castle and the evening for the lights. For the other light displays this winter, see our guide to Japan's winter illuminations.

FAQ: Nabana no Sato