Read time: About 8 minutes
Hey there. Hiroshi here, from "Ramen, Beer & Blog."
On a clear day during the rainy season, my wife, our Shiba Inu Momiji, and I went to see the hydrangeas at Sagamihara Asamizo Park (Sagamihara Asamizo Koen), a large city-run park in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture.
That sounds lovely — but I should be honest. The real reason we drove out was to dump an old microwave at the bulky-waste center. My wife bought a new one, I said "we don't need two microwaves," and the old one got sentenced to the trash. The walk was a happy accident on the way home.
In this post I'll cover the things people actually search for: is parking free, where dogs can and can't go, and which paths stay shady on a hot day — plus "Sagami Blue," a hydrangea you can only see at this park.
Who this is for
- Anyone wondering if parking at Sagamihara Asamizo Park is free (and how it differs from the prefectural park next door)
- Dog owners who want to see the hydrangeas with their pup
- People with a heat-sensitive dog looking for a shady walking route
The short answers
- Parking is free, year-round. The prefectural Sagamihara Park next door charges on weekends/holidays, so park on the Asamizo side.
- Dogs are OK on the walking paths, on a leash. But the lawn area and the petting-zoo enclosure are off-limits for dogs.
- Hydrangeas peak in mid-June. The route is almost entirely shaded with a nice breeze, so even a heat-sensitive dog can handle it. Don't miss "Sagami Blue."
A note for the Camp Zama / Sagamihara community: this is one of the easiest free, dog-friendly green spaces in the area, and it's a short drive from base housing.
Contents
- Parking is free | Quick facts
- Dogs are welcome — but not everywhere
- A heat-sensitive Shiba and the "shade" problem
- Walking the hydrangea route
- "Sagami Blue," the park's own hydrangea
- An honest confession: Momiji quits
- Wrap-up
Parking is free | Quick facts
Here are the basics before you go.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Address | 2317-1 Asamizodai, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa |
| Parking | Free (about 1,265 spaces, free year-round) |
| Admission | Free |
| Hydrangea peak | Mid- to late June (around 200 varieties, 7,400 plants) |
| Dogs | OK on the paths (leashed) / not allowed on the lawn or inside the petting zoo |
| Shade | The hydrangea route is mostly shaded with a breeze (good for heat-sensitive dogs) |
| Main facilities | Green Tower Sagamihara (55m / ~180ft, free observation deck) / Petting Zoo / Athletic playground |
| Time needed | About 1 hour for a relaxed hydrangea stroll |
| Official site | Sagamihara Asamizo Park |
The thing I most want to tell you: parking here is free, all year.
Right next door is the prefectural Sagamihara Park, and that lot charges a fee on weekends and holidays. Asamizo Park is run by the city; the one next door is run by the prefecture — that's the difference.
Even when my errand is actually at the prefectural park, I always park on the Asamizo (free) side. The two parks connect, so you can walk between them on foot. A small money-saving tip worth knowing.
Dogs are welcome — but not everywhere
If you're bringing a dog, the big question is "where exactly can I take them?"
Short answer: the walking paths are fine, as long as your dog is leashed. We walked the entire hydrangea loop with Momiji, no problem.
But there are areas where dogs are not allowed. As you walk, you'll spot signs like the one in the photo — a "no dogs" marker in a couple of spots:
- The lawn area — off-limits to dogs. It's where families spread out picnic blankets.
- Inside the petting zoo (Primo Petting Zoo) — it houses animals, so pet dogs can't go in.
Everywhere else — the hydrangea route and the shaded paths — is fine if you mind your manners: keep the leash short (2–3m), pack out the waste, and don't let your dog drink straight from the taps. The usual common sense.
If you want to do the petting zoo, one person waits outside with the dog. We have Momiji, so we just admired the animals from the fence.
A heat-sensitive Shiba and the "shade" problem
Funny thing — we almost went somewhere else.
To dump the microwave, a waste center to the north would have worked just as well, and we could have walked at a park up there. I figured "that park has shade too." But my wife said, "No, that one barely has any shade."
Momiji is a Shiba Inu who is extremely sensitive to heat. On a path with no shade, she stages a sit-down strike — "I'm not walking." So we went with my wife's plan: the southern waste center plus Asamizo Park.
Best decision of the day.
The hydrangea route here is shaded almost the whole way, with a steady breeze. Even at midday in June it felt cool. If it feels cool to a human, it's even better for a dog down at ground level.
That's Momiji's back in the photo, walking happily through the shade. On a sunny path she'd have flopped down in five minutes. My wife's one sentence saved the whole outing. This is what spouses are for.
Walking the hydrangea route
From the parking lot, you first reach a hydrangea lane near the athletic playground. This part alone was worth the trip.
A shaded tunnel of a path, lined on both sides with blue, purple, and white hydrangeas. The breeze rustles the leaves. One step in and I knew: this was going to be a good walk.
Past this lane, you pass the small petting zoo and reach the main hydrangea route. Shaded again, with a gentle breeze.
The park is said to have around 200 varieties and 7,400 hydrangea plants, each labeled with its name. "Uzu," "Shichidanka," "Ezo-ajisai" — turns out the flowers I'd always walked past without a second thought all have names. Walking along reading the labels, I was oddly impressed.
The big mophead blooms are great, but the understated lacecap hydrangeas have their own charm. In your 50s, it's the quiet ones that get you.
"Sagami Blue," the park's own hydrangea
Partway along, I noticed an unfamiliar sign.
"Sagami Blue."
According to the sign, this is an original hydrangea created to mark the park's 40th anniversary. What a fitting Sagamihara name. I've been to this park several times, but this was the first time I'd ever registered "Sagami Blue."
And here's the flower itself.
Deep blue, double-petaled.
A blue that goes one shade deeper than a normal hydrangea — the kind you sort of fall into. Each petal has a frill, and up close it looks downright luxurious. Honestly, this was the highlight of the whole walk.
The sign even includes a little map: "Sagami Blue blooms in the spots shown below." If you're going, use that map to track it down. Coming all the way to Asamizo Park and leaving without seeing it would be a shame.
An honest confession: Momiji quits
I've spent this whole post saying "it was cool and comfortable," so let me be honest at the end.
After enjoying the hydrangeas, right at the very last stretch back to the car — the moment we left the shade and stepped onto the sunny paved path, Momiji stopped dead.
The usual routine.
Too hot. Not walking. Not moving. A full-body protest. She'd been so peppy in the shade, and one patch of sun undid all of it.
She really is a "greenhouse Shiba." Whatever wild instinct she was supposed to have, it left long ago.
But that's our girl. If you're bringing a heat-sensitive dog, stick to the shade and keep sunny stretches to a minimum. That was the lesson of the day. In summer, early morning or late afternoon is the way to go.
Wrap-up
I never expected a walk tacked onto a microwave run to turn into such a good day.
Sagamihara Asamizo Park: free parking, free admission. The hydrangea route is mostly shaded with a breeze, so it works even with a heat-sensitive dog. And there's "Sagami Blue," a bloom you can only see here.
This park is also where we lived, years ago, when our kids were small. Walking it again brought a little of that time back, and warmed my chest just a bit. I brought home hydrangeas and a few old memories.
If you're stuck for where to go on a break in the rainy season — with a dog, with your spouse, or on your own — the hydrangeas at Sagamihara Asamizo Park are well worth it.
You might also like
▶ Takamatsu-yama Hiking from Komachi Shrine | Atsugi, Kanagawa
▶ We Went to the Sagami River with Momiji and Found Japan's Biggest Kite