ashikaga flower park

If you’ve been following my travels this past week on InstaStories, you probably saw some pictures from our day at Ashikaga Flower Park! You may have also seen we had a little mishap in actually getting to the park itself. What should have taken two hours to get there from Tokyo ended up taking four!! We had the route mapped out on our phones, but second guessed our plan and asked a station information desk employee for help… unfortunately they pointed us in a different direction and we ended up on the wrong train. When you travel someplace new where you can’t understand the language, you’re bound to make a few mistakes like that! I’ll tell you what though, we learned our lesson that day and never fouled up our train times for the rest of the trip!!

When we finally got to Ashikaga Flower Park it was after 3pm and chock full of tourists. We’re talking in the thousands, people! It was insanity. I’m not a fan of huge crowds to begin with (#anxiety), but add in the fact that we were trying to take photos without people in them and that just takes you to a new level of stress. In addition to showing up in the middle of the day, we also were there on a Saturday – that was definitely my mistake and a total rookie move. I’ve also learned my lesson from that particular experience!

While it looks like I managed to avoid crowds in most of these photos, it took a looooooooot of patience to wait each time people walked by and were taking selfies under the wisteria (or just standing there on their phones – true story) in order to get a few good shots before the next people came along. Needless to say it took awhile, and Jessica and I were both a little frazzled and frustrated by the end of the day. With all of that said… if you love flowers like I do, making the trip out to Ashikaga Flower Park is totally worth it! But you absolutely must be there right when it opens and go in the middle of the week. Otherwise, the crowds are enough to make anyone want to pull their hair out.

PS – this is that dress I was telling you about last week! I’m OBSESSED! The fit is so cute and flattering, don’t you think? The peek-a-boo back detail adds a youthful touch, but the crisp white poplin and floral print keep it looking romantic and elegant. I can’t wait to wear it back in Dallas for boozy brunches with my gals, on dates, and for all kinds of other things! For sizing reference, I’m wearing a size 4 here.