Okinawa’s most instagrammable event at Southeast Botanical Gardens

Okinawa Bougain Fair 2019 – featuring one million bougainvillea – has been ongoing since Mar. 2nd at the Southeast Botanical Gardens in Chibana, Okinawa City, and is scheduled to continue through Apr. 6th.

At the fair, visitors can enjoy over 40 varieties of colorful bougainvillea arranged in a number of displays making the event arguably the dream of any photographer and the most “instagrammable” affair of the year.

The highlight of the fair is the eight meters high and 11 meters wide “Bougain Tower” claiming to be one of the biggest flower towers anywhere in Japan.

At the same time, an illumination event called “Nostalgia Illumination” is running nightly at the gardens giving the tower and other flower arrangements a beautiful, almost magical aura. The lights are turned on from 5 to 10 p.m. The final admission to the gardens is 9 p.m.

In addition to the bougainvillea displays and night illuminations, there are many hands-on programs held throughout the fair.

Those include a bougainvillea accessory making program, where visitors can make their own accessories using bougainvillea flowers and leaves set in resin. The cost is \800 and up. Visitors can also make their original cards using pressed leaves and flowers. The cost of this program is \300. Making a glittering sun catcher also costs \300.

All three hands-on programs are suitable for persons over 7-year-old.

The programs run every day from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. the garden’s Water Garden area.

Other bougainvillea-related events are held throughout the fair, such as a bougainvillea exhibition, young bougainvillea plant sale, picnic tour with the garden’s tour guide, a stamp rally featuring the designed “instagrammable” spots at the fair, bougainvillea photo contest, and more! The working sheets for the stamp rally are available for at the entrance reception desk. Several kinds of bougainvillea are introduced on the worksheet. The stamp rally runs daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is designed for children over 7 years of age.

Visitors should prepare to spend a few hours at the fair, especially during the weekends, as the gardens could get congested. All program schedules could be changed without prior announcement.

Schedule

Hours: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. with entry until 9 p.m. through Mar 31st.

9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with entry until 5 p.m. from Apr. 1st to 4th and 7th.

Admission \1,500 for adults, \1,000 for persons over 16-year-old and seniors, \500 for children from 7 to under 15. Children under 6 are free. The entrance for adults and seniors will be \1,800 after 5 p.m. during the illumination display (until Mar. 31st).

The nightly Nostalgia Illumination event runs through Mar. 31st.