The is a botanical garden

Botanical garden

A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

 located at the eastern side of the Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park in Katori, Chiba

Katori, Chiba

is a city located in northern Chiba, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 82,633 and a population density of 315 persons per km². The total area was 262.31 km²...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It is open 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (8 a.m.-7 p.m. during the Iris Festival) every day in May and June. July through April it is closed every Monday and from Dec.24 through Jan.4. Admission is charged.

The garden opened in 1969 and features a wide assortment of aquatic plants. It is best known for its iris

Iris (plant)

Iris is a genus of 260-300species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species...

 and lotus

Nelumbo nucifera

Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus, Bean of India, or simply Lotus, is a plant in the monogeneric family Nelumbonaceae...

collections, comprising about 1.5 million irises of 350 varieties, and more than 300 varieties of lotus. The irises are at their best in June, and the lotuses in August.