From late September to early November, cosmos flowers color Japan.
From the katakana name “cosmos,” everyone knows they are an introduced species, yet few flowers have become as rooted in Kyoto’s scenery as cosmos.
Even in Kyoto, you often see cosmos planted in fallow rice paddies on the outskirts. The sight of an entire field of cosmos spreading out with Kyoto’s beautiful rural landscape as the backdrop is magnificent.

What Are “Cosmos”?

A collective term for the genus Cosmos

Cosmos is a collective term for plants of the genus Cosmos in the family Asteraceae.
In the narrow sense, “cosmos” refers to Ōharushagiku, but in general it also includes yellow cosmos, chocolate cosmos, and their hybrids.
Cosmos were introduced to Japan after the Meiji era and are a relatively new flower in Japan.
Today they are a familiar sight, growing widely in fields and along roadsides.
They are especially planted in fallow rice paddies as “cosmos gardens” for tourism, not only in Kyoto but throughout the country.

Cosmos, Native to Mexico

The name “cosmos” comes from a Greek word meaning “harmony” or “order.”
This is because the flower is characterized by its eight petals arranged in a regular pattern.
Cosmos are native to Mexico, and it is said that they were named when Columbus brought them to Europe.
Incidentally, the word “cosmos,” from the idea of harmony and order, has also come to mean “the universe.”
In other words, the “Cosmo” in Saint Seiya and “cosmos” share the same etymology.

As for the drugstore chain Cosmos Yakuhin, its name comes from the idea that “like the cosmos flower, which puts down firm roots even in wasteland and blooms beautifully.”

The Many Varieties of Cosmos

Cosmos come in many cultivars, but in terms of species they are generally divided into three: Ōharushagiku, yellow cosmos, and chocolate cosmos.
Ōharushagiku is what is generally referred to as “cosmos.” It comes in a wide range of colors such as pink, white, and red, and in recent years yellow cultivars have also been developed.

Yellow cosmos bears orange and yellow flowers. Like オオハルシャギク, it is native to Mexico, but it is distributed in regions at somewhat lower elevations. Because its flowering period is slightly earlier than that of オオハルシャギク and it has stronger heat tolerance, naturalized plants are more frequently seen than オオハルシャギク.

Chocolate cosmos was introduced to Japan somewhat later than オオハルシャギク and yellow cosmos. Not only are the flowers chocolate-colored, but their fragrance is also reminiscent of chocolate.

Thanks to cultivar improvements, more cosmos now bloom from summer, and these days we even have to go out of our way to call the traditional varieties “autumn-blooming cosmos” or “late-blooming cosmos.”

A sense of the seasons is disappearing from many things, and it is truly sad that even in the world of flowers we are losing sight of what is “in season.” Will the Japanese name “秋桜” too, before long, enter a time when it is treated as an archaic term?

Seeing cosmos—white, crimson, and the like—tossed by the wind and blooming in profusion so perfectly suits the Japanese aesthetic sensibility and Japan’s natural climate that one might say there is hardly anyone who would not feel “autumn” at the sight; there seems to be no other plant so deeply fused with the sense of the seasons.

Cosmos have the trait of forming flower buds as autumn comes and the hours of daylight grow shorter (a short-day habit), but in recent years, through breeding, varieties that bloom regardless of day length have begun to appear. If such cultivars are sown in spring, they flower from early summer; if sown in summer, they bloom in autumn as before.

Places in Kyoto to Enjoy Cosmos

Kameoka Yume Cosmos Garden (Kameoka City)

Highlights

When you think of Kameoka in autumn, the red spider lilies and the fall foliage are beautiful too, but the most famous are surely the cosmos.
Kameoka Yume Cosmos Garden boasts one of the largest scales in Kansai, with 8 million cosmos across 20 varieties. It is, of course, the largest cosmos garden in Kyoto.
About 4.2 hectares of fallow fields spread east of Kameoka Sports Park are carpeted with cosmos.

Because it lies in the pleasantly sized Kameoka Basin, no matter which direction you view the cosmos from, the verdant mountains provide a backdrop.
Cosmos of many varieties—red, pink, orange, yellow, and white—bloom in profusion.

Across the basin from Kameoka Yume Cosmos Garden rises Mt. Ushimatsu, 636 meters above sea level.
Known as the “Tamba Fuji,” Mt. Ushimatsu is one of Kameoka’s iconic peaks.
At its foot stands Atago Shrine, said to be the original Atago; there is even a theory that the name “Mt. Atago” originally referred to Mt. Ushimatsu.
It is said that as the center of Atago worship shifted from Kameoka to Kyoto, the name “Mt. Atago” likewise moved from Mt. Ushimatsu to the mountain now called Mt. Atago.

Creative Scarecrow Contest — a Signature Attraction

Inside the cosmos garden, an exhibition of ingeniously crafted “creative scarecrows” is one of Kameoka Yume Cosmos Garden’s hallmark events. A “Creative Scarecrow Contest” is held, with the rankings determined by visitors’ votes.

In 2020, a new “creative scarecrow” modeled on Ken Shimura’s Bakatono-sama (“The Foolish Lord”) was on display.
It might not have been a perfect likeness, but it was an adorable scarecrow.
Many of the creative scarecrows take their themes from that year’s current events, and looking back at them later brings the memories of that year rushing back.

Inside the garden you’ll find the Tanba Ajiwai Market, where you can enjoy foods made with local ingredients from Kyoto-Tanba. In 2025 as well, the stalls will be lined with everything from black soybean sweets, local vegetables, and matsutake rice to classics like yakisoba, hot dogs, frankfurters, and pork miso soup.
Please note that the Tanba Ajiwai Market closes a little earlier than the cosmos garden—at 4:00 p.m. ( 4:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays).

The best time to see them is from early to late October.
With as many as 20 varieties, there are plenty of early- and late-blooming types, so somewhere in the garden you can always enjoy cosmos in full bloom.

Admission has been raised in stages since 2020, and from 2024 the fee is ¥1,000 on weekends and holidays and ¥800 on weekdays.
Meanwhile, elementary and junior high school students, who previously had to pay, are now admitted free.

Speaking of Kameoka in 2020, it was the setting for the Taiga drama “Kirin ga Kuru.”
It presented a portrayal of Akechi Mitsuhide that was markedly different from what had come before, and I looked forward to Sundays every week.
I would love to see another Taiga drama with Akechi Mitsuhide as the lead; next time, I hope Kameoka is depicted in ample depth as well.

Just when the cosmos are reaching full bloom at the Kameoka Yume Cosmos Garden, the Kameoka Festival—the annual festival of Kuwayama Shrine—is held in Kameoka’s old Kameyama castle town.
Festivities include Yoiyoiyama on October 23, Yoimiya on October 24, and the main festival on October 25, during which a yamahoko float procession takes place.

The eleven yamahoko floats are each adorned with beautiful decorations, and their splendor fully lives up to the festival’s nickname, the “Gion Festival of Kuchi-Tanba.”
Because the cosmos typically peak around the same time each year, I recommend that anyone coming for the Kameoka Festival also visit the Kameoka Yume Cosmos Garden.

About Kameoka Yume Cosmos Garden

Its official name is “Kyoto Tanba / Kameoka Yume Cosmos Garden.”
The garden opened in 2000 for the purpose of regional revitalization, created by local farmers’ cooperatives and merchants’ associations by making use of fallow rice fields. At the beginning, it was on the scale of about five million cosmos.

In its early years the cosmos garden was smaller than it is now, but it gradually expanded in scale and has grown into a hallmark autumn attraction of Kameoka, drawing more than 40,000 visitors annually. In particular, after the section of the Kyoto-Jukan Expressway between Kutsukake IC and Oyamazaki JCT opened in 2013, the garden has thrived with many visitors, taking advantage of its location just off Kameoka IC on the expressway.

With the Kameoka City Tourism Association (a general incorporated association) serving as the secretariat, the resident-led Yume Cosmos Garden Project Executive Committee received the Encouragement Prize of the Kameoka City Lifelong Learning Awards in 2015. In 2021, its 22nd year since opening, the cumulative number of visitors reached 700,000.

By the way, Kameoka City’s official city flower is the azalea. Given that Kameoka is now so strongly associated with cosmos, this may come as a surprise. The city flower was designated in 1965. Since the Kameoka Yume Cosmos Garden opened in 2000, the designation predates the time when cosmos became part of Kameoka’s image. If the choice were made today, cosmos (or perhaps bellflower) might be selected.

Sagano (Ukyo Ward)

Highlights

The Sagano area spreading between Hirosawa Pond and Osawa Pond is designated under multiple protections: a Scenic District, a Special Scenic Landscape Area, and a Historic Landscape Preservation District. Thanks to Kyoto City’s strict regulations, the nostalgic rural landscape of old Japan survives here almost uniquely intact. With fields where the rice has been harvested and the straw is laid out to dry in the sun as a backdrop, you can admire beautiful views of cosmos blooming in a rainbow of colors.

Cosmos begin to bloom around the time red spider lilies are at their peak, and they shed their petals when the autumn colors in Kyoto’s Arashiyama area reach their best.
The prime viewing period is roughly from mid-October to mid-November.

About Sagano

In a broad sense, Sagano refers to the area of Kyoto lying west of Uzumasa and north of the Katsura (Ōi) River, but here it is used in its narrowest sense: the district bounded by Hirosawa Pond, Osawa Pond, and Ichijō-dōri.
Since the Heian period, the wider Sagano area has been cherished as a place of scenic beauty and as a villa district for Kyoto’s aristocracy.

Above all, Sagano preserves one of the most beautiful rural landscapes in the Kyoto environs.
You can enjoy a pleasant walk amid the tranquil atmosphere of farmers at work in the fields.
I’m grateful to the farmers who protect this countryside, preserved almost miraculously.
Another delight is the freshly picked local Kyoto vegetables sold at unmanned roadside stands.

The Sagano area as a whole once had poor access to water.
Even the famed Osawa and Hirosawa Ponds, known for their scenic beauty, were used as irrigation reservoirs.
In 1951, after heavy rains, the Kankōji-dani Reservoir, which had been built in the mountains, burst and caused extensive damage across the Sagano area.

In 1952, the Sagano Irrigation Canal project was launched to bring water to Sagano by driving a tunnel from the Kiyotaki River on the mountain’s north side. With the canal’s completion in 1955, the farmers of Sagano—long plagued by water shortages—were finally freed from their hardship.

Ohara (Sakyō Ward)

In Ohara, a sightseeing spot known for its rural countryside near Kyoto, cosmos begin to bloom here and there in autumn—between the fields and along the river embankments.
They don’t appear in great masses as in a dedicated cosmos field, but rather blossom in scattered patches across the farmland.

Amid fields where the harvest has been brought in, the cosmos stand out in especially vivid color.
Around late September, when they first begin to bloom, the red spider lilies also reach their peak, and Ohara is splendidly adorned with flowers.

Before the crowds of the autumn foliage season arrive, the village of Ohara is still quiet.
Why not take your time and enjoy the cosmos?

Just when the cosmos reach their peak, the Autumn Ōhara-me Festival is held from Monday, October 23 to Friday (holiday), November 3, 2023.

The main event is the Ōhara-me Historical Procession, typically held on November 3 (national holiday) each year.
Women dressed as Ōhara-me in costumes from the Muromachi, Edo, and Meiji–Taishō periods parade from Jakko-in to Jakko-in, making their way through fields where the cosmos are in full bloom.
However, the Ōhara-me Historical Procession was not held in 2023 or 2024.

In closing

Cosmos flowers blend seamlessly into Kyoto’s autumn countryside. Because many of these fields make use of fallow rice paddies, they’re often located in the suburbs of Kyoto and can be difficult to reach by public transportation.

With MK’s chartered sightseeing taxis, it’s easy to access Kyoto’s outlying areas where transport is limited. Why not experience a different kind of Kyoto trip with professionals in sightseeing and hospitality?

MK Travel Kyoto Sightseeing Taxi Tours – Autumn Flowers Route

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