Day 5: Japan

On the last day of our virtual congress, we travel all the way to the East to get some inspiration from Japanese Garden Centres.

Before we start with our tour, IGCA Past President, Koichi Akatsuka, welcomes delegates to Japan:

Akatsuka Garden Company FFC Pavilion

Our first stop is at Akatsuka Garden Company FFC Pavilion that sells a variety of plants and seasonal gifts. The total sales area of the garden centre is around 1 800m2.

Join us on a tour of this garden centre:

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Hirata Nursery Garden Centre

Hirata Nursery was founded in 1976. The company has seven garden centres, all situated on Kyushu Island in the Southern part of Japan. The average sales area per store is around 2000 m2. They also own a production nursery where plants are grown.

Learn more about the garden centre and their reaction to COVID-19 regulations:

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Ozaki Flower Park

Ozaki Flower Park was founded almost 60 years ago as a plant nursery and after 15 years the vision was changed to create a garden centre. The nursery area is around 10 000 m2. Join Akihiro for more information on the garden centre:

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Protoleaf

One of the largest horticultural stores in Tokyo , located in South-East of the city. For a tour of the store and some valuable business insights,

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Sogo-engei – Barns Garden Centre

Sogo-engei is based in Kanazawa, about 2 1/2 hours travel from Tokyo. The company operates in three business sectors, namely exterior structure planting work, maintenance of garden and the garden centre. Learn more about this garden centre:

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Tochigiengei

This garden centre is based in a rural area away from the Tochigi City, in the northern Kanto region of Japan. Tochigi has a humid continental climate characterized by warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. See what this garden centre has to offer:

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Yoshimoto Kajyoen

Yoshimoto Kajyoen is situated in the Yamaguchi Prefecture in the Chugoku region of Honshu, the largest and most populous island of Japan. This nursery does 15% sales through their garden centre, 35% through mail order and 50% through online sale. Let’s take a tour with owner, Yoshimoto Masahiro:

https://youtu.be/sq65-kEPhnA