Spring on Mt. Gozaisho, a mountain over 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) above sea level, comes late compared with on the lower plains.
From late March to mid-May young green leaves begin to appear on trees as the snow melts, which expand gradually from the base upward to the summit.
In early June when the mountain is covered with fresh greenery,many different kinds of flowers including five-leaf azaleas (the heath family, a typical flower of Mt. Gozaisho) start blooming from the base to the summit.

Spring in full bloom. Discover the flowers of Mt. Gozaisho.

Mt. Gozaisho is composed of granite and is home to a wide variety of plants from the heath family.
You can see many different kinds of flowers from the heath family, including five-leaf azaleas, cork-bark white azaleas, redvein enkianthus, rhododendron japonoheptamerum var. hondoense and rhododendron dilatatum.
Spring in Mt. Gozaisho comes slowly. Beginning with Japanese witch hazel in late March, you can enjoy flowers here until around June.
Flowers start blooming slowly from the base to the summit.
※There are no cherry tree blossoms at Summit Park.

Typical flowers of Mt. Gozaisho

Five-leaf azalea（Heath family）　Flowering time: Late April to early May
Flowers bloom before leaves come out. It is the most popular among pink flowers found on Mt. Gozaisho. Leaves are produced in whorls of five in the same way as Cork-bark White Azalea.
Widely found from the mid-mountain to the summit, it is one of the most typical flowers that blooms in spring on Mt. Gozaisho.
Cork-bark white azalea（Heath family）　Flowering time: Late May to early June
Leaves come out first, followed by gentle, pure white flowers that bloom partly hidden by the leaves. Their stems look like those of pine trees. Leaves are produced in whorls of five.
It is widely distributed around the summit with pure white flowers that beautifully match the fresh green leaves. It is one of the most typical flowers that blossom in spring on Gozaisho along with five-leaf azalea. It blooms after five-leaf azalea.
Gentiana thunbergii var. （minor, Asteraceae family）　Flowering time: Early April to late May
It has the second longest bloom time after Japanese witch hazel.
It blooms in shades of blue, purple and white and is said to be a variety of Gentiana thunbergii. Its small, attractive flowers, which are found widely along the route of sightseeing lifts, close on cloudy days and open when it’s sunny.
Rhododendron japonoheptamerum var.（hondoense, Heath family）　Flowering time: Mid to late May
One of the typical members of the heath family, it is said to be one of the most beautiful rhododendrons in Japan. It is not distributed very widely at the summit of Mt. Gozaisho.
Drooping red enkianthus（Heath family）　Flowering time: Late May to mid-June
Pendent umbels of red flowers bloom as their stem grows slowly in the shade of leaves. One of the best know flowers of its kind.
Redvein enkianthus（Heath family）　Flowering time: Late May to mid-June
It offers pendent umbels of light greenish white, bell-shaped flowers in the shade of leaves. It is also one of the best know flowers of its kind found on Mt. Gozaisho along with the drooping red enkianthus.
Its creamy white flowers with red veins may remind you of the pattern of chintz.
The pattern is not very clear on the buds, but the color turns deeper as they bloom. When in full bloom, the treetops are a deep wine red color, which sets off this large tree in its entirety.