Hello!  It’s Mee-wa.

In my previous article, I wrote about the old town of Sawara.

Today I’d like to tell you about an aquatic botanical garden called “Sawara Iris Park.”

It is about 10 minutes away from downtown Sawara by car.

There are about 1.5 million irises planted in the park, all of which can be grouped into about 400 different species.  Every year, they have the “Iris Festival” at their best season from the end of May to late June.

In addition, you might get to see a wedding scene where a bride and groom in a small boat going through a waterway during the festival season.

Traditionally, from the 17th century to the middle of the 20th century, when there were a lot of waterways all across this area, most people used “boats” to move from one place to another in their daily lives. In those days, there was a tradition where a bride in wedding costume took a “boat” to go to her groom’s house on their wedding day.

This tradition came to an end once, but it has revived at this park now.