Blooming Symbol of Friendship

In honor of Hotel Okura Amsterdam’s 25th-anniversary, the Okura Tulip was cultivated 27 years ago. This beautiful Okura Tulip represents the enduring bond between Japan and the Netherlands and respect for nature.

With its reddish-orange petals, it sways gently in the breeze as it reaches up towards the first rays of spring sunshine. In spring, the Okura Tulip is a striking and colorful presence in the garden of Hotel Okura Amsterdam, the famous annual Keukenhof and in the gardens of other Okura establishments.

Embassy donation

Recently, General Manager of Hotel Okura Amsterdam, Michiel Roelfsema, presented 500 bulbs of our Okura tulips to Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the Dutch Embassy, Theo Peters, and 500 tulip bulbs to Japanese Ambassador Minami Hiroshi. “It is an honor to add the Okura Tulip to the vibrant collection of embassy gardens in Japan and the Netherlands. We are happy to contribute to spreading the beauty of this flower and the message it carries,” says Michiel. Cultivating a new tulip variety is a labor-intensive and lengthy process. After several rounds of cross-breeding to create the perfect shape and colour, it takes the tulip several seasons to develop the desired characteristics. The Okura tulip took fifteen years to refine, but the results are astonishing. The Okura Tulip features bright colour gradations of orange, red, and pink with a fanning yellow edge along the petals. These will be in full bloom next spring.