Garden sights in Tokyo
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A
Chinzan-Sō
This lovely, hilly 66,000-sq-metre strolling garden was part of the estate of a Meiji-era politician and statesman, and lining its many pathways are a number of antiquities transported from all over Japan. Most notable is a 16.7m three-storey pagoda, estimated at nearly a millennium old, which was transported from the Hiroshima area, as well as lanterns, monuments and torii. We don’t particularly love the contemporary construction of hotels and wedding halls around it, but all that is forgotten in the garden’s lovely soba shop Mucha-an.
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B
Koishikawa Kōrakuen (Koishikawa Kōraku Garden)
This 70,000-sq-metre formal Japanese garden is one of Tokyo’s most beautiful and least visited (by foreigners at least) – if you have the slightest interest in gardens, you should make a beeline here. Established in the mid-17th century as the property of the Tokugawa clan, the garden incorporates elements of Chinese and Japanese landscaping, although nowadays the shakkei (borrowed scenery) also includes the other-worldly cool of the Tokyo Dome. The garden is particularly well known for plum trees in February, irises in June and autumn colours. Of special note is the Engetsu-kyō (Full-Moon Bridge), which dates from the early Edo period. Kōrakuen means ‘the garden of…
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C
Hinokicho-kōen
The highlight of the Tokyo Midtown complex. Formerly a private garden attached to the Azabu villa residence for the Mori family, a member of the Hagi Clan during the Edo Period, Hinokicho was reopened as a public park for the benefit of visitors to Tokyo Midtown. Adjacent to the park is the aptly named Midtown Garden, which was the former site of the Japan Self Defense Agency, though today it's a cherry-tree lined grassy space that's perfect for a picnic.
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Meiji-Jingū Gyōen
The grounds of Meiji-jingū shrine are also home to the Meiji-jingū Gyōen, a lovely strolling garden. It was once the property of two daimyō families, after it came under imperial control, Meiji himself designed the garden as a gift to the Empress Shōken. There are peaceful walks to the pond and teahouse and a good dose of privacy at weekdays, and spectacular irises and satsuki azaleas in season.
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D
New Otani Japanese Garden
This stunning 400-year-old Japanese garden on the grounds of the New Otani Hotel is worth a stop if traditional landscapes are your thing. Though the garden is open to the public, the hotel doesn't go out of its way to make it accessible. The easiest way to find it is via the first floor of the hotel's Garden Court shopping complex.
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Rikugi-en
Rikugi Garden is a fine garden with landscaped views unfolding at every turn of the pathways that criss-cross the grounds. The garden is rich in literary associations: its name is taken from the six principles of waka (31-syllable poems), and the landscaping evokes famous scenes from Chinese and Japanese literature.
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Yamamoto-Tei
At the lovely garden Yamamoto-tei you can take a seat inside over a bowl of powdered green tea and a sweet (¥500) and contemplate this Kyoto-style classical garden, ranked fourth best in Japan by the Journal of Japanese Gardening.
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Yasuda Garden
A pleasant walk connects the park and the Ryōgoku Kokugikan through the Yasuda garden, once the site of the Edo home of a daimyō.
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