As part of a Keikyu coastal walking tour, I visited Kurihama Hananokuni, a hilly area in Kurihama, Yokosuka, during Golden Week. “Hananokuni” means flower land in Japanese.
As a beginner in the Yokosuka/Kurihama area, I was very interested in this photo walk with two expecattions.
(1) I want to see Tokyo Bay from the top of the hill.
(2) I wanted to take pictures of the nemophilas, which were probably at their peak
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So what happened?
1) The view of Tokyo Bay.
I entered the park from the entrance on the Kurihama Port side, and after confirming with the park staff that the highest point was the “Adventure Land” bus stop, I took the park bus up to the top.
From there, it took me a few minutes to walk to the ‘observation deck’ spot with the help of a guide map.” I thought it was a long way down from the “highest point”, but arrived at the “lookout” in the hope that this would lead me to the part where the ridge juts out towards the sea, and here is the view from the “lookout”.
You can’t see anything!
Overgrown trees all around, almost zero visibility. We’ve been hit!
I’m glad I took the insurance shot from the middle of the descent path, where there was a bit more visibility.
The view is a little more “vista”, but you can still see over Tokyo Bay to the Boso Peninsula, which is a little more satisfying.
To take a picture of the sea in the direction of the Kurihama-Kanaya ferry route, it seems to be much better to aim between the trees on the way up to the herb garden from the second parking lot than near this observation deck. (I passed by on the bus, but from the window I had a clear view of the Tokyo Bay ferry departing and the direction of my destination, Uchibo)
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2) Enjoying the nemophila fields.
Poppies and nemophila were at their best on the hillside.
As for me, I was expecting a landscape similar to the famous flower fields of Hitachinaka Kaihin Park, where nemophilas fill the field of vision as far as the eye can see, but apparently the concept of “Kurihama Hananokuni” is different. The idea was to create a gorgeous flower garden of blue, white, red and yellow flowers, planted together with poppies, which overlap in season.
The reason for the difference in intentions was solely due to a lack of research on my part in advance. I think that the landscaping of the “Hananokuni” is a flower garden in its own right.
I changed my strategy and tried to “get close” to the nemophila and poppies with macro and telephoto lenses.
It was GW and they had staged a lot of carp streamers swimming in the sky, so I tried to create a picture involving them. I’m still not very good at using a wide-angle lens.
Photography enthusiasts were also out in their own way. Some people were struggling with their own soap bubble machines to combine their dogs, flowers and soap bubbles, but the wind was a bit strong and it was a pity that they were struggling.
So, although it did not go as we had planned in advance, we had quite an enjoyable walk in the flower garden.
Kurihama Hananokuni, a 15-minute walk from Keikyu Kurihama Station, is recommended as a hilly park with free admission and easy access. However, the size of the park and the difference in elevation is not half bad, so plan your visit accordingly!
Equipment used this time K-3III, DA20-40, DA55-300PLM, SIGMA3.5/10-20, SIGMA50 MACRO
