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Pink, red and white azaleas in bloom below the rocky cliffs of Mt. Mifune
Photo: mahlervv, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Saga · garden

Mifuneyama Rakuen

御船山楽園

A 500,000 m² garden at the foot of craggy Mount Mifune near Takeo Onsen: some 200,000 azaleas in spring and 170-year-old maples in autumn against bare rock.

Garden pond reflecting green trees and the rocky peak of Mt. Mifune
Photo: そらみみ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Thatched teahouse by the pond with blossoms at Mifuneyama Rakuen
Photo: mahlervv, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The villa garden of Takeo's lord

Mifuneyama Rakuen is a garden in the city of Takeo, Saga Prefecture. Towards the end of the Edo period, Nabeshima Shigeyoshi, the lord who ruled Takeo, laid it out as the garden of his villa, and it was completed in 1845 after about three years' work. He is said to have invited a painter of the Kano school (a school of Japanese painting that served the shogunate and the daimyo lords in the Edo period) from Kyoto to design it.

It was originally designed for strolling around the pond while admiring the rocky outline of Mount Mifune. From around the end of the Meiji era onwards, large numbers of cherry trees and azaleas were planted, giving it its present form as a flower garden. In 2010 it became a Registered Monument of Japan (Place of Scenic Beauty).

Seasonal flowers against a rocky backdrop

Mount Mifune, which towers behind the garden, has also long been called Tosenzan ("Chinese ship mountain") because its shape resembles a Chinese ship. The combination of this rugged rock face with the carefully tended flowers of the garden is what makes the scenery here unique.

In spring about 2,000 cherry trees bloom, and from mid-April to early May about 200,000 azalea bushes turn the slopes red, white and pink. You can also enjoy wisteria and hydrangeas. In autumn the big maple trees, around 170 years old, change colour, and a Momiji (maple) Festival is held during the autumn colour season. Flower season schedules change from year to year, so check the official website.

teamLab's "A Forest Where Gods Live"

Since 2015 the art collective teamLab has held an exhibition in this garden called "teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live". Its theme is "nature becoming art just as it is", and the digital artworks make use of the natural forms already there, such as the garden's trees and pond. In 2024 it reached its tenth year and ran from July to November. Check the official website for that year's dates and tickets.

Getting there

The nearest station is Takeo-Onsen Station on the JR Sasebo Line. From the station it is about 5 minutes by taxi, or you can take a JR Kyushu Bus to the Mifuneyama Rakuen stop. On foot it takes about 30 minutes. By car it is about 10 minutes from the Takeo-Kitagata Interchange on the Nagasaki Expressway.

Tips

  • The most popular seasons are azalea time, from mid-April to early May, and autumn colour time, from November to early December. Admission fees change with the season, so check the official website.
  • There are two steep slopes in the garden. Wear comfortable walking shoes.
  • Pets, spreading out blue picnic tarps and bringing in alcohol are not allowed.
  • Mount Mifune is a Registered Monument, so rock climbing and hiking on it are forbidden.

Sources

Updated 28 September 2026. Opening hours and prices change, so check the official site before you go.

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