Tree Frogs at Yoshimizu-en Garden

The lovely Yoshimizu-en Garden in Aki-ota opens its gates to the public for two weekends during June to while the green tree frogs are hatching. This is your last chance to see the garden until November when it opens for autumn leaf viewing.

From the Yoshimizu-en website

Yoshimizu Garden is a natural habitat for the Moriao Tree Frog, which has the unique habit of laying its eggs in trees close to the water.　In 1952, the garden was designated a prefectural wildlife reserve. Mid-May to mid-July is egg-laying season.　At night, four males gather around one female in the branches of trees that protrude over the pond and together they form a bubble-like egg sac.　On average,each egg sac contains three hundred eggs.　After about a week, the eggs begin to change and drop from the branches into the pond.　Two months later, the baby frogs crawl up into the trees.　The locals call the white egg sacs “small bags of life.”

The garden is open the first two weekends of June.