When you are a bit bored of nature and are after a bit of a thrill at Hiruzen Highlands, head to Hiruzen Kogen Center & Joyful Park (ヒルゼン高原センター・ジョイフルパーク). There are various rides for everyone to enjoy, even for young children. Taking the ferry wheel is another way to overlook the scenic plateau. In addition, it is a hidden rhododendron spot in Okayama!
Hizuren Kogen Center & Joyful Park, just as they are named, can be largely divided into 2 sections.
- Hiruzen Kogen Center for you to shop and eat
- Joyful Park, where all the typical amusement park rides are located
The souvenir shops at Hiruzen Kogen Center sell basically all the Hiruzen Highland specialties. From dairy products and Japanese sweet bean cakes to salty pickles, if you can’t be bothered to travel between all the shops on the plateau, visit the center, and your souvenir shopping at Hiruzen Highland is done!
Tip: Free samples are offered for many edible souvenirs, so don’t forget to try them before you pay! We particularly recommend lightly pickled radish. The freshly steamed Japanese sweet bean cake, Hiruzen Kōgen Manjū (ヒルゼン高原饅頭), is another popular souvenir, but it contains eggs.
In their restaurants and cafes, there are a few vegetarian options. As the menu may change, please utilize the phrases in our Essential Japanese Travel Phrases for Vegetarian article to ask for vegetarian menus (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ.
Joyful Park’s Entry Fee and Free Passes
You have two options for enjoying the rides at Joyful Park. You can either get a free pass that includes the park’s entry fee or an entry ticket that pays for each ride separately.
- Free pass:
- 4,000 yen for junior high school students and above
- 3,500 yen for children from the age of 3 to elementary school students and anyone who is over the age of 64
- Entry fee:
- 800 yen for junior high school students and above
- 600 yen for children from the age of 3 to elementary school students and the elderly who is over the age of 64
- The fee is 200 yen more for the days marked in blue in the Park’s Calendar.
- The cost to enjoy the rides ranges from 400 yen to 800 yen. Please refer to their website HERE for more details. The website is in Japanese, but you can click on the numbers to reveal the photo of the ride.
- You can open the page with Google Chrome and change the Google Translate language setting to English at the right of the address bar.
Hiruzen Highland Rhododendron Festival (蒜山高原しゃくなげ祭り)
Another thing that Hiruzen Kogen Center & Joyful Park boasts about is its rhododendron garden. At the back of Joyful Park, approximately 15,000 rhododendrons of 100 different species are in full bloom in May each year!
Please note that the garden is inside Joyful Park’s grounds, and you will need to pay the entry fee to see the gorgeous flowers.
In 2024, the Hiruzen Highland Rhododendron Festival was held from May 1st to 26th. Various events are held during the festival period. It is probably the best time of the year to shop at Hiruzen Kogen Centre because once you spend a certain amount of money, you get your chance to bring home local specialties for free by participating in a lucky draw (≧▽≦).
Hiruzen Kogen Center & Joyful Park’s Business Hours and Access Information
- Hiruzen Kogen Center opens from 9 am to 5:30 pm.
- From the 25th of November to the 25th of March, the center closed at 4:30 pm.
- Joyful Park opens from 10 am to 5 pm.
- From the 25th of November to the 25th of March, the park opens from 11 am to 3 pm.
- If you plan to take a bus to the plateau, the bus stops in front of the Hiruzen Kogen Center & Joyful Park if you get off at Hirusen Kōgen Sentā Mae (蒜山高原センター前).
Discover Other Attractions at Hiruzen Highlands
Hiruzen Highlands (蒜山高原) in Okayama Prefecture, also known as Hiruzen Plateau, is one of the best highland resorts in Western Japan. It is reminiscent of Karuizawa near Tokyo. While architecture might be less fashionable, it has much more capacity for you to enjoy nature. Renowned as a summer resort, cycling through the 29km well-maintained bike road is the most enjoyable way to avoid summer heat!
For more information, refer to our Hiruzen Highlands article!
