Each year in October, the Higashi Sanbin Flower Valley in Shimane is filled with around 600,000 colorful cosmos flowers, covering a space of around 10 hectares. An annual festival to celebrate the glorious blooms takes place on the second Sunday in October, when the flowers are typically looking their best.
As there are different cosmos varieties planted throughout the flower valley, there is still plenty of beauty to enjoy earlier or later in the month, so even if you can't time your visit to coincide with the festival it's still worth stopping by. For those who may be visiting the area outside of the autumn season, do note that the valley also hosts a poppy festival on the second Sunday of June.
Getting there
As the Higashi Sanbin Flower Valley is in quite a rural location, accessibility is most convenient by car. The valley is around 70 minutes by car from the Chugoku Expressway's Miyoshi IC.