Kitagawa village "Monet's Garden" Marmottan — Attraction in Kitagawa

I agree with those who say: it’s going to depend on the season you go. I went on March 20th, 2023. The Monet garden… didn’t really look like the pictures. All of the water lilies were gone or dead (most likely because of winter, not extermination). The bridge is nice enough, but it is a metal replica and doesn’t quite match what I imagined. As the Monet garden is THE sales point for this place, it felt like a let down. Summer is probably great though.

The floral garden is lovely. There were plenty of blooms. That said, I live in Mie prefecture, and there are at least two gardens here which have much vaster floral displays for comparable prices, Nabana no Sato and Red Hills Hisa. The flowers here in Kitagawa were nice but the garden was fairly small in comparison.

The Mediterranean area is interesting and clearly much effort was put into making it, but again not much was blooming.

A couple minor negative points: there are a few places where there clearly used to be something, and they just gave up. “No entry” signs and whatever was there is starting to be engulfed by forest/weeds. Also, there are signs for a long hike to “Wind Hill”. It is all uphill and basically just a standard “lookout point” over the city. Nothing there of interest at all. If you like lookout points (they’re everywhere in Japan) go for it. Otherwise, wind hill can be skipped and you won’t miss anything but time.

Price is reasonable at ¥1000. On the other hand, this garden was listed in a book of “1000 wonderful Japanese views” and I wouldn’t put it that high. Nice enough if you’re in the area, I wouldn’t make a...

Beautiful garden. Peace of art. Any time, any part of year. I didn't want to waste my time on pictures, I was watching everywhere. So many colors. Different setups. Inside is really great place for kids to play(I was playing more as 36years old) We spent 4hours there,but really can stay more. Bring spray for mosquitos, and other insects(we were ready) Long pants. It is a huge garden with small lakes and ponds. Go in the morning,bring something to eat inside, cafe is outside, and inside a garden i think I saw water/juice/coffee machines,but we already had ours. Climb till the top, can see the ocean. Clean air,oxigen, my kids were sleeping overtired 13hours after. Want to go again. If I leave there, would go...

REVIEW FOR MARCH (disregard during peak bloom)- It must be beautiful in late spring and summer, but when it opens in March, it's extremely underwhelming, especially given the remote location. There was a tulip display (which was only a small patch, despite its advertisement), and some pansies; I feel like I could have seen those flowers anywhere. If you can't come during peak bloom, please don't come. If it's not June~August, I'd check social media (search Instagram for the hashtag #モネの庭) and see if there are people posting...