The garden outside the Kumamoto Prefectural Burial Mounds Museum may attract more crowds for its beautiful wisteria display, but the summer months bring a new look to the garden as lotus plants throng the meandering waterways. The best time to come is in the early morning, when the delicate buds open up to greet the sun; they close themselves off again by early afternoon. The garden, which is always free to enter, hosts an ongoing lotus festival from late June to the first weekend in August. A small onsite market sells fresh local produce and drinks to combat the humidity.
- 1 min read
Ancient Lotus Garden
A garden for early risers
![Mandy Bartok Mandy Bartok](https://a0.cdn.japantravel.com/photo/u/896/240x240!/565e87e167ba810c868b6bb4.jpg)
By Mandy Bartok
Community writer
![A dark pink bud closes up later in the afternoon](https://a0.cdn.japantravel.com/photo/21842-121572/1000/kumamoto-ancient-lotus-garden-121572.jpg)
A dark pink bud closes up later in the afternoon
![A large white lotus in the lower half of the garden](https://a1.cdn.japantravel.com/photo/21842-121573/1000/kumamoto-ancient-lotus-garden-121573.jpg)
A large white lotus in the lower half of the garden
![Lotus plants thrive in the waters under the garden's wisteria trellises](https://a2.cdn.japantravel.com/photo/21842-121574/1000/kumamoto-ancient-lotus-garden-121574.jpg)
Lotus plants thrive in the waters under the garden's wisteria trellises
![The best time to see the flowers is in the early morning](https://a3.cdn.japantravel.com/photo/21842-121575/1000/kumamoto-ancient-lotus-garden-121575.jpg)
The best time to see the flowers is in the early morning
![The path through the garden extends for about half a kilometer](https://a0.cdn.japantravel.com/photo/21842-121576/1000/kumamoto-ancient-lotus-garden-121576.jpg)
The path through the garden extends for about half a kilometer
![Leafy lotus plants grow in the garden's meandering stream](https://a1.cdn.japantravel.com/photo/21842-121577/1000/kumamoto-ancient-lotus-garden-121577.jpg)
Leafy lotus plants grow in the garden's meandering stream
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Jerome Lee
8 years ago
The colours of that first picture is simply amazing, great work Mandy!
Thanks, Jerome! It struck me as such an unusual color for a lotus.
Yui Yamaguchi
9 years ago
Such beautiful photos. When the flower opens, is it true that there is sound like "pom"?
I don't know, Yui. I got there fairly early but not early enough to see any of them actually opening!
4 comments in total
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