Big and colorful sunflowers about 2 meters tall delight visitors at Narita Dream Farm in the city of Narita, Chiba Prefecture, July 24, 2025. These are of the "hybrid sunflower" variety, which usually bloom about 60 days after planting, but this year they did so about five days early, possibly due to the very hot weather. A woman in her 30s from Tokyo said, "I was energized by seeing the sunflowers blooming so well even in the hot sun." A total of about 100,000 sunflowers will bloom here from mid-July to late August -- the farm plants seeds at different times, so visitors can see sunflowers over a longer period.

(Japanese original by Tsukimi Goda, Narita Bureau)