We visited at the end of April to make this report. This is the best time to see the roughly 130,000 flowers including 125 varieties of tulips when they are all in bloom. But before we tell you more about the beautiful gardens, let us briefly tell you about Blumen Hugel Farm.

Blumen Hugel Farm consists of the Starting Area, Lively Area, Flower Area, Animal Area, Water Area, and Play Area located on its expansive grounds. These grounds are incredibly spacious so walking about visiting everything will give you some good exercise.

The anticipation of what awaits you inside builds when you see the reproduced German townscape.

I decided to primarily visit the Flower Area and Animal Area, which are the main topics of this article.

Incidentally, you can take the free retro-style shuttle bus to Blumen Hugel that runs from the Omi Railway Hino Station (operates only on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays).

By car, it takes about 20 minutes from the Meishin Expressway Gamo Smart Interchange.

You need to purchase a ticket just in front of the entrance gate. 1,000 yen for junior high school and above, 600 yen for 4 year-olds ~ elementary school-aged children, no charge for 3-year-olds and older, and 300 yen for dogs (all prices include tax).

Immediately on the left after entering the park, there was a sign indicating the Blume Dog Run (no charge for use).

I eagerly looked forward to seeing German architecture and colorful flowers in the park. If you go to Blumen Hugel, you can take a break from your daily life and spend a special time here experiencing what it is like on a dairy farm.

Passing through the Lively Area you come to the Flower Area. In the main flower garden, different kinds of flowers bloom in each of the four seasons.

The flowers blooming in the spring every year are narcissus, canola, and cherry blossoms from mid-March. Tulips and nemophila bloom from mid to late April, and roses begin to bloom in late May.

There are 125 varieties of tulips in the garden; there seems to be so many that I imagine the staff even has trouble remembering everything about them.

It seems that this is so because they are planted when they are bulbs and knowing which is which can be a bit confusing. For example, suddenly you will see a red tulip in the midst of a row of white ones...can you spot it?

In early summer, roses begin to bloom, and in July you can also enjoy hydrangea, Chinese hibiscus, and sulfur cosmos. The roughly 50,000 sunflowers blooming in August also make a spectacular sight!

The cosmos are lovely in the fall and the pansies and viola can be enjoyed in the winter.

No matter the season, you will always be surrounded by beautiful flowers, so visit during those times when your favorite flowers are in bloom.

Next to the Flower Area in the Animal Area there are sheep, alpaca, and a horseback riding area, and in the Minimaru Land within the Animal Contact Plaza there are fluffy rabbits and guinea pigs that you can pet. Here you can feed sheep and goats and also come into contact with turtles, miniature pigs, and emu.

In these pastures and paddocks you can seem all types of animals in their natural habitat. The sight of this agricultural park surrounded by such an abundance of nature warmed my heart.

Let’s go inside to see what kind of animals are there. I entered with eager anticipation.

The main animals here are kangaroos, capybaras, emu, and pigs wandering about the garden. Before stopping at the Minimaru Land I first headed straight for the garden.

After having fun interacting with the kangaroos and capybaras, I went back into the building to enjoy the Minimaru Land.

“These little animals are really cute!” I exclaimed. Just looking at their peaceful and loving eyes is soothing. This is an experience I think everyone should have. You may think that the Minimaru Land in the Small Animal Contact Plaza is for children, but I think adults also will enjoy it.

Walking around the broad expanses of the park I worked up an appetite, so headed over to the highly acclaimed Rural Restaurant. This is a great lunch spot where you can enjoy an authentic BBQ and a seasonal vegetable smorgasbord, which mainly uses local vegetables.

The seasonal vegetable smorgasbord has a 60-minute time limit and is open from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (accessible until 3:00 p.m.) The fee is 1,750 yen for junior high school aged and older, 900 yen for elementary school aged and above, and 500 yen for ages 3 ~ 6 (all prices include tax).

This restaurant boasts dishes made using Shiga specialties such as red konjac and chojifu (a type of wheat gluten), as well as vegetables purchased from local farmers, and homemade bread. When we visited fatsia sprouts harvested in Hino Town were made into tempura on the spot. These freshly harvested fatsia sprouts tempura were absolutely delicious! The strawberry dessert made by a local farming family was also popular.

You can also enjoy all you can eat beef, pork, chicken, sausage, seasonal vegetables, and Omi rice at the Barbecue House next to the Rural Restaurant. The fee is 2,300 yen for junior high school aged and older, 1,200 yen for elementary school aged and above, 800 yen for ages 4 ~ 6, and 500 yen for ages 3 (all prices include tax).

The Shop in the Lively Area had a lot of original Blumen Hugel homemade products as well as sausages imported from Germany. Also keep an eye open for the popular baumkuchen, homemade ice cream, homemade yogurt and Blumen Hugel original craft beer made in the park.

I bought some these to take back with me, but there are still many other playground facilities in the park. This gigantic athletic facility imported from Germany opened on March 1, 2019! It is 17 meters tall. Among the 72 attractions that have been classified as difficult there is bouldering, boats floating in the air, and a single bridge that can be crossed by bicycle.

I’d like to play on it all day! This is the perfect place for those with energetic children to enjoy a full day of pleasure at Blumen Hugel

This time, I primarily enjoyed the spectacular view of the flower gardens that extended as far as the eye can see, but next time I would like to try the athletics equipment. There are many exhibitions and attractions that can be enjoyed outdoors, so be sure to visit on a sunny day.