The Koshimizu Wildflower Garden is a natural flower field where you can enjoy about 40 different kinds of flowers from May to August every year, with flowers blooming in abundance along approximately 8km of coastal sand dunes.

On a clear day, you can see the beautiful scenery of Mt. Shari and the Shiretoko mountain range, and nearby you can find nostalgic train stations on the JR Senmo Main Line and spots where you can enjoy local cuisine from Koshimizu Town.

This time, we'll introduce the charm and ways to enjoy "Koshimizu Wildflower Garden," along with some nearby spots that might make you want to venture a little further afield.

Table of contents
1. Koshimizu Wildflower Garden, a natural flower field.
2. One-coin lunch at the roadside station "Hanayaka Hananohana Koshimizu"
3. Summer-only "Okhotsk Strawberry Farm Main Store"
4. Okhotsk specialty confection Hogaja "Fukutaro Co., Ltd. Koshimizu Hokuyo Factory"
5. A nostalgic station cafe on the JR Senmo Main Line
Final thoughts

Located along National Route 244 for approximately 8km, the Koshimizu Wildflower Garden is a long, narrow sand dune nestled between the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and Lake Tofutsu, where around 40 different kinds of flowers bloom every year from May to August.

Designated as part of Abashiri Quasi-National Park in 1957 (Showa 32), this natural flower field offers a variety of flowers to enjoy depending on the season.

Representative flowers include the dark purple "Kuroyuri" (black lily), which signals the arrival of early summer in the Okhotsk region; the orange "Ezo Sukashiyuri" (Ezo lily), the town flower of Koshimizu; the yellow "Ezo Kisuge" (Ezo daylily), which has its only cluster in Hokkaido, and the pink "Hamanasu" (Japanese rose), Hokkaido's symbolic flower. The most vibrant blooms are from mid-June to late July, but you can enjoy the flowers that bloom during that period until around late September.
Image caption: Top: Lilium maculatum (Ezo lily) Bottom: Rosa rugosa (Japanese rose)

The name "Ezo lily" comes from the fact that its flowers bloom facing upwards and have gaps between the petals, while the "Japanese rose" is a rose family flower with a pleasant fragrance used as an ingredient in perfumes, and its red berries contain a lot of vitamin C, which can be enjoyed in rosehip tea and other beverages. Knowing these little characteristics of flowers can help you enjoy them from a different perspective.

The charm of "Koshimizu Wildflower Garden" lies in its topography. From the observation deck, you can enjoy a 360-degree panoramic view of the beautiful sloping sand dunes, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, and Lake Tofutsu. On clear days, you can even see the Shiretoko mountain range and Mount Shari, which rises to an altitude of 1,547m.

As you walk along the promenade, you'll descend to a beach overlooking the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, where "Japan's northernmost singing sand beach" stretches for 14 kilometers from east to west.

A "singing beach" is a beach where the sand makes a squeaking sound when you walk on it. It seems that the sound is more likely to occur if you walk with rubber-soled shoes like sneakers and drag your feet along the sand, so if you're interested, please give it a try!

Inside the "Hana" information center, you'll find a shop selling local specialties and snacks, a rest area, a panel corner introducing Koshimizu Town and the "Koshimizu Wildflower Garden," and free bicycle rentals.

Rental bicycles are available on a first-come, first-served basis, with 8 adult bikes and 2 children's bikes available. Reservations must be made at the "Information Center Reception" or the "Hanakaido" shop.

Use is limited to 3 hours between 9:30 and 17:00, and bicycles are not allowed inside the park; the purpose is for people to use the area for sightseeing.

小清水原生花園
HP:http://www.town.koshimizu.hokkaido.jp/hotnews/category/156.html
Address: Hamakoshimizu, Koshimizu-cho, Shari-gun, Hokkaido 099-3452
Free admission
Parking lot available
Access: Approximately 50 minutes by car from Memanbetsu Airport.

Information Center "Hana"
TEL 0152-63-4187
営業時間　5月～9月 8:30～17:30 無休、10月 9:00～17:00 無休 、11月～4月 休館

Located 3km (about 5 minutes by car) from "Koshimizu Wildflower Garden," the roadside station "Hanayaka Hanayaka Koshimizu" is directly connected to JR Hamakoshimizu Station, and trains on the Senmo Main Line stop there at certain times.

The roadside station, which sells local specialties and seafood, recommends its one-coin lunch! The "Potato Chunk Curry," which contains a whole potato grown in Koshimizu town, is only 500 yen (tax included) and is both visually impressive and very filling.

They offer a variety of affordable and casual dishes, such as fluffy Koshimizu beef croquettes for 100 yen, fried potatoes for 300 yen, soba and udon noodles, and limited quantities of Shiretoko chicken burgers available for takeout. Coffee is also available for 100 yen with a meal.

"Potato Sweet Potato," handmade at the revitalization center within the roadside station, is a local sweet from Koshimizu town, sold only on weekends in June and November, with a limit of 200 per day.

These sweet potato treats, filled with smooth potatoes, are so popular that they sometimes sell out, so it's best to go buy them in the morning.

Roadside Station "Hanayaka Hananohana Koshimizu"
HP:http://www.town.koshimizu.hokkaido.jp/hanayaka/
Address: 474-7 Hamakoshimizu, Koshimizu-cho, Shari-gun, Hokkaido 099-3452, Japan
TEL +0152-67-7752-XNUMX
Opening hours: 9:00 AM - 19:00 PM, light meal/coffee shop: 11:00 AM - 14:00 PM
Closed: New Year's Day
Parking lot available
Access: Approximately 55 minutes by car from Memanbetsu Airport.

Located a one-minute walk from the roadside station "Hanayaka Hananohana Koshimizu," "Okhotsk Strawberry Farm" is a sweets shop using locally grown strawberries that is open for a limited time each year from the Golden Week holidays until the end of October. In addition to this main store, there is also the "Gensei Hanaen Ekisha Store" which opens at the beginning of each month.

Image courtesy of:Ichigo no Oka Koumo Co., Ltd.

The sweets shop is operated by the agricultural corporation "Ichigo no Oka Koumo Co., Ltd.", which produces and ships strawberries nationwide that are tart and suitable for processing. They also process and sell strawberries that do not meet their strict standards for shipment, and offer products such as jams and strawberry sauces that can be purchased from their official website.

The shop, which also has an eat-in space, offers a wide variety of strawberry-based sweets, including fresh strawberry juice (370 yen), strawberry milk (370 yen), chiffon cakes made with eggs and flour from Shimizu (220 yen each), and jelly made with ripe strawberries (270 yen).

In particular, the crepe filled with plenty of ripe strawberries (430 yen) is a menu item that is not too sweet, allowing you to enjoy the natural sweetness of the strawberries. It is a product that can only be found at the main store, so why not make a trip there from "Koshimizu Natural Flower Garden"?

Okhotsk Strawberry Farm Main Store
HP:http://www.itigo.cc/index.html
Address: 474-4 Hamakoshimizu, Koshimizu-cho, Shari-gun, Hokkaido 099-3452, Japan
TEL +0152-64-2115-XNUMX
Opening hours: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM (May holidays - end of October)
Closed on Tuesdays (or Wednesdays if Tuesday is a public holiday), and closed during the winter season.
Parking lot available
Access: Approximately 55 minutes by car from Memanbetsu Airport.

About 6km (approximately 7 minutes by car) from "Koshimizu Wildflower Garden," you'll find "Fukutaro Co., Ltd. Koshimizu Hokuyo Factory," which uses the building of a former elementary school to manufacture and sell "Hogaja," a crispy rice cracker with a rich seafood flavor.

Hogaja, which has now become a well-known souvenir from Hokkaido, is actually a confectionary originating from the Okhotsk region, made with potato starch from Koshimizu Town.

At the direct sales store, you can tour part of the attached rice cracker factory, and the facility is decorated with wonderful paintings called "codomono art," which are original drawings freely created by the last students of the former Hokuyo Elementary School and then colored by a designer.

The factory offers great deals on "value-pack broken rice crackers" at special factory prices, and you can also purchase popular Fukutaro products such as mentaiko (spicy cod roe) and Hakata souvenir classics like "Menbei" crackers. The eat-in space, open to locals and tourists alike, offers free coffee and tea, creating a very bright and cheerful atmosphere.

Fukutaro Co., Ltd. Koshimizu Hokuyo Factory
HP:http://www.hogaja.com/
TEL0152-63-4141
Address: 304-1 Hamakoshimizu, Koshimizu-cho, Shari-gun, Hokkaido 099-3452, Japan
Business hours 10: 00 to 16: 00
Closed on Obon (summer holiday) and New Year's holidays. The factory is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays.
Access: Approximately 60 minutes by car from Memanbetsu Airport.

[Related Article] Potatoes from Koshimizu Town are used to make sweets! We visited the "Hogaja" factory.

The JR Senmo Main Line, which connects Abashiri and Kushiro, passes through tourist spots such as Kushiro Marsh and Kawayu Onsen, and also operates special trains such as the "Drift Ice Story" train, which runs between Abashiri Station and Shiretoko-Shari Station only in winter, and the "Kushiro Marsh Norokko" train, which runs between Kushiro Station and Toro Station only in summer.

Along that railway line, there are several cafes inside station buildings that have an indescribably charming atmosphere.

"Teishajo," a light meal and coffee shop located inside the JR Kitahama Station building, is a nostalgic building that carefully preserves the original wooden station building that opened in 1924. The interior of the light meal and coffee shop is designed to resemble an old passenger train car, using wooden seats and other items that were actually used in the station.

The restaurant offers a wide variety of seafood dishes, including scallops, shrimp, and crab, as well as ramen, curry, omelets, pasta, and lunch sets that include coffee. It is located about 20 minutes by train from JR Abashiri Station and 5.3 km (about 5 minutes by car) from "Koshimizu Wildflower Garden".

"Torokko," a light meal cafe located inside the JR Mokoto Station building, is also a building with a long history, having opened in 1924 (Taisho 13). The interior, which was renovated from the station office when it was a manned station, is a space filled with nostalgic railway goods.

Recommended dishes include the Drift Ice Ramen, packed with seafood, and the somewhat unusual Dairy Ramen, a white soup with a salty base enhanced by the richness and creaminess of milk. Other curry dishes are also popular♪ Access is about 15 minutes by train from JR Abashiri Station, or 8.2km (about 9 minutes by car) from "Koshimizu Wildflower Garden".

Light meal cafe "Teishajo"
HP:http://www.h3.dion.ne.jp/~kitahama/
Address: No street number in Kitahama, Abashiri City, Hokkaido 099-3112, inside JR Kitahama Station
TEL +0152-46-2410-XNUMX
Business hours 11: 00 to 20: 00
Closed on Tuesdays and during the New Year holidays.
Parking lot available
Access: Approximately 45 minutes by car from Memanbetsu Airport.

Snack bar "Torokko"
HP:http://www.abakanko.jp/food/food-drink/07cafe/705.html
Address: 099-3111 Hokkaido, Abashiri City, Mokoto, inside JR Mokoto Station
TEL +0152-46-2750-XNUMX
Business hours 10:00 to 19:00
Regular holiday Irregular holiday
Parking lot available
Access: Approximately 40 minutes by car from Memanbetsu Airport.

Final thoughts

Koshimizu Wildflower Garden is a popular summer spot where a temporary station, "Gensei Hanazono Station," is opened every year from May to October. In the adjacent Lake Tofutsu, horses are released to graze from mid-June to late October, and you may even encounter horses eating grass.

This article introduces four recommended spots centered around the Koshimizu Wildflower Garden, a 14km drive from east to west, taking you about 16 minutes by car. Why not enjoy the magnificent scenery while using the free rental bicycles available along the way?

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