Near Japan’s easternmost point on the Nemuro Peninsula lies Hoppogensei Flower Garden. I recently visited it during my trip around the peninsula.

Hoppogensei Flower Garden is a relatively untouched area of land that features two things: horses and plants native to Hokkaido. In Japanese, “Hoppo” means northern, precisely what you will find here. While many parts of Hokkaido now have plants from the rest of Japan and other parts of the world, this area still only has plants native to Hokkaido.

When you get to Hoppogensei Flower Garden, you are greeted with a field gate – a horse field gate, to be precise. While horses are allowed to roam in this area, it has not been specifically prepared for them. The plants are very shrubby – so much so that a walkway has been built for human use and sits about a meter (3 feet) off the ground. While humans stick to the paths, horses go wherever they want, including the path and off through the brush.

The horses are very friendly for horses. In other words, they don’t mind coming close to you, but some can be skittish and decide not to come in direct contact. Usually though they are just focused on eating as many of the plants as they can.

How to get to Hoppogensei Flower Garden

Hoppogensei Flower Garden is on Route 35, around the Nemuro Peninsula’s coast. If you take the clockwise direction from Nemuro, it will take you about 15 minutes by car. If you go the other way, it will take about 45 minutes.

Some buses stop near here, going in both directions. The number of buses per day varies, but there are 4 or 5 in the summer, depending on the month. You can find more up-to-date information about the bus timetable and pricing on the Nemuro Tourism website.

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