■January 1^st 2006, Birth of the New Gosen City

Located in the center of the southeastern part of Niigata Prefecture, Gosen city boasts a population of 58,000 people over an area of 351.9 km. New Gosen city was born from the merging of a city and a town (Old Gosen city and the town of Muramatsu) as of January 1^st 2006. Gosen has been known from times past as a silk textiles region which saw a national expansion in its knit products following World War 2. Gosen’s scenic beauty, lush green mountains and pure waters have given birth to sub local specialties as peonies which are second to none in Japan, tulips chestnuts, ginko, taro and carp farms.

■Flower Town
Melting snow gives way to the blooming of skunk cabbage. Muramatsu Park is one of 100 nationally selected cherry viewing sites, including the Oyamada Higan cherry, which has been designated as a national natural monument. Or1500, 000 tulips forming a blanket covering entire fields Gosen is a favorite tourist spot famous for its 115 varieties of Flowers, with its 100 types of Peonies totaling over 5000 plants.