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HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > Barrier-Free Hanamiyama Park in Fukushima City
A spectacular floral viewing spot accessible by visitors with disabilities and small children
Fukushima City Tourism and Convention Association
Hanamiyama is an attractive park located on a hill in the outskirts of Fukushima City. It was praised as “a utopia in Fukushima” by renowned photographer Shotaro Akiyama (1920–2003), who used to visit every year. The area is truly a Shangri-La, particularly in spring, when the entire hillside is dyed in vivid colors with about 70 varieties of flowers blooming, including plum, forsythia, Tokai cherry, Japanese quince, Somei Yoshino cherry, and flowering peach.
At Hanamiyama, people with disabilities have led a decade-long effort together with related organizations to make the area barrier-free. The initiative started with volunteer caregivers guiding disabled visitors around the park in wheelchairs and expanded to include lending out walking sticks and wheelchairs with brakes, installing wheelchair-accessible toilets, and placing rubber mats over gravelly areas.
A special route for wheelchair and stroller users, called the Yuzuriai Course, has also been created by widening the formerly narrow path leading to the rape blossom field and paving the path to the park entrance. The park also features baby changing facilities and a nursing room, making it a welcoming spot for families with small children.
These efforts to ensure barrier-free access are being made not only at Hanamiyama, but also at other locations within Fukushima City. Under its principle of becoming “a city friendly to everyone,” Fukushima will continue promoting barrier-free tourism with flexible, multifaceted approaches to meet people’s diverse needs for the elimination of access barriers.
How to get there
From JR Fukushima Station, take the Watari Minami Mawari bus to "Hanamiyama Iriguchi" bus stop (15 minutes), then walk 25 minutes. Special bus service (Hanamiyama Bus) operates during peak blossom season.
17 Watarihara, Fukushima-shi, Fukushima-ken
