Hitachi Seaside Park: Endangered Hanahatazao Blooms, Special Guided Tours Announced

In the 'Sand Dune Area' of Hitachi Seaside Park, the Hanahatazao, known for its small, charming reddish-purple flowers, is in bloom. The Hanahatazao is an endangered plant, classified as Category I in the Ministry of the Environment's 5th Red List (2025) and the Ibaraki Prefecture Red Data Book (2012). During the Hanahatazao guided tour around the Sand Dune Area, the park's volunteers, the 'Wild Plant Partners,' will guide visitors through the habitats and characteristics of rare plants growing in the dunes, such as the Hanahatazao, the Thunberg lily (sukashiyuri), the broadleaf sandwort (kawarasayiko), and the trailing vigna (noazuki).

The Hanahatazao is a Brassicaceae plant that grows in mountainous areas and coastal sandy regions. Its name is said to be derived from the way it stands on a single stem 'like a flagpole' while blooming beautiful flowers. It grows 15–50 cm tall and blooms with reddish-purple flowers about 1 cm in diameter. Its main habitats are in Ibaraki, Yamanashi, and Kumamoto prefectures, and it is considered a rare plant at extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the very near future.

The Sand Dune Area where the Hanahatazao grows naturally is a terrain formed by sand from the Kuji River accumulating on the coast and being pushed up by northeasterly winds. To protect this precious environment and these plants, the park continuously conducts conservation activities. They conduct plant counts in June, collect seeds in September, raise seedlings from October to April, and transplant them to the Sand Dune Area in May.

Coinciding with the blooming period of the Hanahatazao, the park will hold special guided tours by the 'Wild Plant Partners.' The tours will take place from 10:00 to 11:30 on June 7 (Sun) and June 14 (Sun) in the Sand Dune Area. Participation is free, but registration is required in advance, with a capacity of 20 people per tour.