Japan: Tokyo Gardens and Parks. Tokyo Gardens Tokyo Gardens

When cherry blossoms bloom in spring, Tokyo gets into a festive mood. For city residents, cherry blossoms are a symbol of celebration, nostalgic and aesthetic pleasure, or just a great reason to throw a party. All city residents want to go outside and spend as much time as possible under flowering trees.

In Tokyo, the hanami season begins in the second half of March and lasts approximately two weeks. The exact flowering dates are highly dependent on weather conditions. The city has hundreds of parks, streets, gardens, temples and rivers with cherry trees. And today we want to tell you about the twenty most popular places in Tokyo to admire cherry blossoms.

Tidorigafuti Ditch

Hundreds of cherry blossom trees grow along the moat of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. To admire the luxurious flowers not only from the shores, you can rent a boat and take a walk on the water surface, covered with fallen petals, which are especially abundant at the end of the flowering season. The Tidorigafuti moat is an incredibly beautiful place, especially when all the flowers are in bloom. It is such a popular hanami destination that you can wait in line for hours before you can rent a boat.

Shinjukugyoen Park

Shinjukugyoen is a 144-acre park located in the central Shinjuku district of Tokyo. There are about 1,500 sakura trees in the park. The park is quite large and it is easy to find a quiet, peaceful place. The park has more than a dozen different types of cherry blossoms and has an entrance fee and limited visiting hours. This is a popular place for cherry blossom viewing with the whole family, so noisy parties are not often held here.

Ueno Park

If you want to see a huge hanami party, visit Ueno Park. It is always crowded and very noisy here. The park covers an area of ​​133 acres and is home to about 1,000 cherry trees, which line the wide alley and the banks of Shinobazu Pond. In addition, the park contains varieties of sakura, the flowers of which bloom the earliest in Tokyo.

Meguro River

There are about 800 cherry trees along the banks of the Meguro River in Nakameguro. During the Nakameguro Sakura Festival they are illuminated brightly at night. The Meguro River itself is more like a city canal, but the trees here are very beautiful. It's a great place to walk, but there isn't much room for parties. The area is home to many fashionable shops, cafés and restaurants.

Yoyogi Park

The park covers 134 acres and has about 600 sakura trees. This park is already a very visited place, but during the hanami season there are many more people.

Inokashira Park

The park covers 95 acres and contains approximately 1,000 trees. Young people traditionally gather here to celebrate hanami because there are several large universities nearby. The park is also popular with couples who love to ride on swan-shaped boats on the Inokashira Pond. However, according to local legend, it is believed that such couples are doomed to break up.

Koganei Park

At 196 acres, Koganei Park is the second largest park in Tokyo. There are about 1,700 cherry trees here, which attract huge crowds during hanami.

Sumida Park

This is a small park on the banks of the Sumida River. About 1000 sakura trees grow along its banks. During hanami season, you can also take a pleasure boat ride on the river. The park is located near the Tokyo Skytree.

Koishikawa Korakuen Garden

Koishikawa Korakuen is one of the oldest gardens in Tokyo, founded back in 1629. The garden offers its visitors to admire several varieties of sakura, including early weeping sakura. There is a fee to enter the garden and visiting hours are limited.

Roppongi Sakurazaka

Roppongi Sakurazaka is a street behind Roppongi Hills, lined with 75 young cherry trees, which are also very beautifully lit at night. This is a very popular place for walks among couples. In addition, Mori Garden in Roppnogi Hills also has cherry trees to admire.

Aoyama Cemetery

At Aoyama Cemetery, several hundred cherry trees form a pleasant alley that runs right through the cemetery. Office workers who work in this area often go for a walk along this alley during their lunch break or in the evening after work. It would seem a little awkward to host parties among graves. But perhaps this could lift the spirits of the deceased.

East Garden of the Imperial Palace

The East Garden of the Imperial Palace is a park next to the Imperial Palace, which contains the ruins of Edo Castle, several gardens and fields with cherry trees. The park is only open during the day, there are no parties here, so the place is quite calm and not noisy.

Yasukuni Shrine

There are about 600 cherry trees near Yasukuni Shrine. The temple hosts a Sakura festival, which attracts about two hundred sumo wrestlers. There are no parties here.

Rikugien Garden

The Japanese Walking Garden, founded in 1695, is considered one of the best gardens in Tokyo. During hanami season, Rikugien's visiting hours are enlarged and several cherry trees are illuminated.

Shiba Park

This is a small park located next to the Tokyo Tower that has 70 cherry blossom trees. During hanami it becomes one of the most crowded small parks in Tokyo.

Komazawa Olympic Park

A fairly large park in Setagaya, popular with students from nearby Komazawa University. There are about 100 sakura trees in the park.

Hamarikyu Gardens

An Edo period garden with a large pond in the middle surrounded by a moat of salt water. In addition, the garden is surrounded by skyscrapers in the Sidome business district. The garden has about a dozen sakura trees, and is often illuminated during hanami season.

Kitanomaru Park

Kitanomaru Park is located on the other side of the Chidorigafuchi moat. The moat itself offers better views, and Kitanomaru Park has much more space for parties and picnics.

Hibiya Park

Hibiya Park is located in front of the Imperial Palace and the entrance to the Imperial Hotel. It is not very popular during the hanami season, but there are also several cherry trees on the grounds.

Kinuta Park

A large grassy park in Yoga, near Setagaya. The park is lined with spreading cherry trees, under which residents who live nearby usually take place for parties. However, the park is much less crowded than other more popular hanami spots.

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Tokyo is one of the four largest cities in the world and the most complex at the urban level. It abounds not only in architecture, but also in the most beautiful and spectacular botanical gardens and parks.

Truly artistic creations. The combination of plants, water, sand and rocks displays natural beauty. They invite tourists to meditate and just relax. Ponds that simulate lakes, rocks that are islands or mountains, trees simulated over the years with precise shapes, as well as dwarf trees in pots... Paths that cross the gardens and stop at beautiful tea houses where you can climb and contemplate nature reduced in size...

Traveling around Tokyo You should definitely check out one of the parks. It takes at least an hour to walk around this miracle of nature and craftsmen.

Koishikawa Korakuen. The garden, which occupies 7 hectares of land, was built in 1629 by the Mito Tokugawa family. Walking along it brings real pleasure. A lake, an island, a crescent arched bridge in the waters of a pond... This garden is a real miracle!

Rikugi-en. The garden is a typical example of Edo era gardens. The path from the very entrance will lead tourists to a magnificent lake, and then to a 35-meter elevation, from where you can enjoy the panorama of the park itself and the city.

Hama-Rikyu. This is Tokyo's most spectacular park. 250 hectares of gardens and lakes will not leave anyone indifferent. The park is home to a 300-year-old pine tree, and there is also a large and varied peony garden with 60 different species of these lovely flowers.

Kyu Shiba-Rikyu. This is another prime example of Edo period gardens. Artificial hills inviting you to enjoy the landscape, ponds, as well as chains of mountains...

There are many other gardens and parks in Tokyo that amaze with their grandeur and beauty.

When is the best time to go to Tokyo? The climate in Japan's capital is relatively mild throughout the year. It rains from the end of June until mid-July, so there is high humidity. Winter, on the contrary, is dry and with cloudless skies. So, if anyone suffers from high and stifling humidity, travel in October or November. Winter in Tokyo is cold, but there is practically no snow. April is another high point for tourism because it is the month of local outdoor celebrations and typical Japanese gardens are in all their sparkle.

As you know, the capital of Japan is Tokyo - a powerful industrial, economic and cultural center of this amazing country. On the territory of the city and in its surrounding districts there are several entertainment complexes, each of which is interesting in its own way and worthy of repeated visits. However, the most large-scale, popular and socially significant can be called with full confidence " Tokyo Dome City"

Located in the heart of Tokyo. This is a huge sports and entertainment complex, which includes an indoor baseball stadium designed for 55 thousand spectators, a concert complex where world celebrities perform, a complex of spa treatments "LaQua", a hospitable hotel "Tokyo Dome Hotel", shops , restaurants and, of course, the center of fun - an amusement park called " Tokyo Dome City Attractions".

One of its most exciting attractions is the extreme roller coaster called "Thunder Dolphin". Thrill-seekers board trolleys and rise to a height of 218 feet, from where they drop down at an angle of 80 degrees and rush at a speed of 130 km/h. The highlight of the trip is given by its unusual route, passing through the openings in the building of the complex " LaQua"and the center of an 80-meter Ferris wheel called " Big-O", which lacks a central axis.

Another exciting attraction is called " Tower Hacker", it slowly lifts passengers to a height of 80 meters, pauses briefly, giving them the opportunity to survey the sprawling panorama, and then suddenly drops down at a speed of 100 km/h, stopping literally two meters from the surface of the earth. During this entertainment, visitors are overwhelmed with nothing the incomparable feeling of free fall, which, having experienced once, most people dream of repeating again. For such extreme sports enthusiasts, there is another attraction in the park called " Skyflower", which gives you a real air trip by parachute, which also ends in free fall.

Also the park Tokyo Dome City Attractions"famous for its thrill ride" The Pipeline". The opening of this roller coaster took place in 1985 and its main difference is a rotating trolley with passengers, which adds a lot of additional sensations to an already extreme trip.

Tokyo Dome City Amusement Park Map

Visitors with children will enjoy the Magical Mist playground, which is a special surface with holes for small fountains. Children happily frolic in the water, while parents relax on a bench, enjoying the surrounding beauty. Adult visitors who also want to have a little refreshment can visit the "Wonder Drop" attraction, which begins with a relaxing ride in a rocking boat and ends with an unexpected fall into the pool from a height of several tens of meters.

Tokyo Dome City Attractions waits for its visitors every day from 9 am to 10 pm. The entrance ticket for an adult visitor is $25, for children over three years of age - $18.

Amusement park Tokyo Dome City on the map of Tokyo

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The Tokugawa shoguns built Ueno Hill (now Ueno-koen Park) with temples and shrines, and since then the park with its cherry trees has become a favorite place for the aristocracy, especially during hanami - cherry blossom viewing. It was here in 1867 that modern Japan's first modernized army defeated 2,000 Tokugawa clan loyalists who opposed the Meiji Restoration. Surviving supporters of the military regime set fire to the buildings of the Kaneji temple complex to prevent them from falling to the reformers, but fortunately missed the Toshogu Shrine, built in honor of Tokugawa Ieyasu himself.

Edo Wonderland Park

In the Japanese city of Nikko there is an interesting theme park that deserves special attention. This is a park called "Edo Wonderland" (Nikko Edomura). The park is a small town that fully corresponds to the architectural style of Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868).

All park employees are dressed in historical costumes, which adds a special atmosphere to the overall image of the park. Visitors to Edo Wonderland can also rent a matching costume for a fee and look like a resident of Edo period Japan.

In Edomura Park, every visitor can feel that they have taken a leap into the past of Japan, and after purchasing souvenirs, they can easily return to the present and continue their journey through this interesting country.

Tobu World Square

In the Japanese city of Kinugawa there is an amazing park called Tobu World Square. In this park, each visitor can feel like Gulliver in the land of Lilliput. Tobu World Square is a park filled with smaller replicas of many of the world's famous buildings scattered around the planet.

Construction of the park dragged on for five years. Tobu World Square was first opened to visitors on April 24, 1993. The park features 102 historical monuments and buildings, made on a scale of 1:25. Every detail has been taken care of in creating the miniatures, making each one a stunning find for architecture lovers.

Tobu World Square also houses 140,000 figurines of people walking around landmarks and 20,000 miniature bonsai tree replicas.

Hanayashiki Amusement Park

Hanayashiki Amusement Park, which was formerly a flower park, is over 150 years old. It is located next to Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa area of ​​Tokyo. This charming old park is one of the city's most striking attractions.

Hanayashiki is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is open all year round. There is an entrance fee here. Visitors to the park are offered all kinds of entertainment: small Ferris wheels, carousels, roller coasters, the Shot attraction - “outer space exploration”. Various exciting events, performances, and competitions are also periodically held in this area.

Tobu World Square

There is a place in the world where you can feel like a real Gulliver. And it is located in Japan, and is called Tobu World Square.

Tobu World Square is a theme park at the Kinugawa Onsen Resort in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The park features over 100 1:25 scale models of famous architectural and engineering structures from around the world, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites, surrounded by 140,000 miniature human mannequins, also 1:25 scale, and 20,000 miniature bonsai trees that complement the completeness of the landscape picture of a particular region where the original architectural structure is located.

It took five years to complete construction of Tobu World Square, and on April 24, 1993, the park opened its doors to visitors. It was built precisely in order to preserve the precious heritage of world architecture for future generations. Here you can see the Statue of Liberty, St. Basil's Cathedral, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Pyramid of Cheops, and much more.

Imagine all the world's monuments collected in one place! You wanted to, visited Paris, and within five minutes you were in New York. There is no need for plane flights or train rides, you just need to go from one part of the park to another, and you are already getting from Asia to America or Europe!

Vadakura Fountain Park

Vadakura Fountain Park is a small picturesque park with interesting figured fountains. It is located at the entrance gate to the Imperial Palace.

The park, built in 1961, was opened in honor of a significant event - the wedding of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. In 1995, it was reconstructed in honor of the wedding of the young heirs - the prince and princess.

Another fountain was built in the park and four canals were installed connecting the two fountains, which is a symbol of the connection between two generations. The fountain complex is a pool of 30 fountains, connected by channels to a new fountain, made in the form of a stone arch, at the foot of which there is a fancy fountain in the shape of a spiral shell.

Yoyogi Park

Yoyogi Park, opened in 1967, is located in the Shibuya area. It is considered one of the largest parks in Japan. The famous Meiji Shrine is located in the forest here.

The park is very nice and pleasantly landscaped: it consists of spacious lawns, fountains, ponds, large rose gardens, forest areas, special areas for walking dogs and other attractions. It's no surprise that the park's vast expanses are an ideal destination for outdoor enthusiasts and athletes. Picnics and rehearsals are also held here.

The most suitable time to visit the park is spring, when the early white cherry trees bloom. At this time, many people gather here to drink sake and just relax under the fragrant spring branchy trees.

Shiba-koen Park

Tokyo's Shiba-koen Park is famous for the ancient Jojoji Temple, which was moved here in 1598. Shiba-koen used to be home to a huge temple complex with hundreds of buildings.

And in 1958, on the territory of Shiba-koen Park, it was decided to build the Japanese Eiffel Tower to broadcast radio and television signals.

The length of Tokyo Tower was 330 meters, and the large observation deck, located at an altitude of 150 meters, allows you to see the entire city from above. Here you can also find a wax museum; on the ground floor there are exhibition halls and aquariums.

Monkey Park on Mount Takao

The monkey park is located on Mount Takao, which you can climb by cable car in special transparent cabins, admiring stunning views of the Land of the Rising Sun. The mountain turns into an endless snow-white fountain when the cherry blossoms bloom. The park's cheerful inhabitants will greet you from the first steps along its paths. About 80 monkeys live here, mostly macaques, who do not sit in enclosures, but move completely freely around the territory. You may be allowed to feed some of them. Children are especially delighted by pranksters.

Next to the park there is a herb garden where you can see about 500 varieties of herbs.

Joypolis Park

Joypolis Tokyo (Joypolis) is the largest amusement park in Japan. This is a place where reality becomes virtual, and visitors find themselves in the endless expanses of the rich imagination of Japanese creators of interactive games.

All the latest computer interactive games and virtual attractions, of which there are still few in the world, are presented here. In this place, everyone can soar on a hang glider over tropical landscapes, cope with a snowboard flying along the snowy slopes of Fuji, or simply kill all the moles in their holes the old-fashioned way. In short, a visit to Odaibo is rarely complete for tourists and locals without a visit to Joypolis.

Shinjuku Imperial Park

Shinjuku Imperial Park, located in the Tokyo district of the same name, is one of the most famous parks in Japan, which is beautiful at any time of the year.

Shinjuku Park, opened to the public in 1949, has been the garden of the Imperial Family since 1903.

Every year, not only thousands of tourists, but also the Japanese come to the park, which is more than a hundred years old, to admire the cherry blossoms and wander through the spacious lawns and stroll through the greenhouse.

As in any traditional Japanese park, there is a garden with tea houses, and a French garden is located symmetrically to it. Not far from here is the Taisoji Buddhist Temple, where you can retire and immerse yourself in meditation.

Edo Mura Theme Park

Edo Mura Park is a medieval Japanese village recreated on an area of ​​forty-five thousand square meters, which is located in a picturesque valley.

The park is considered one of the most famous attractions in Japan. After all, it is here that you can feel the spirit and culture of the Edo era with complete historical accuracy. It’s best to set aside a whole day to visit the park – there are plenty of activities for the whole family. You will be captivated by numerous performances with actors, various workshops, parades and other cultural entertainment.

A visit to the park is a real journey through time, which takes you to the era of the shoguns (XVII-XIX centuries).

Ueno Park

Ueno, the most famous and visited park in the Japanese capital, was created in 1873. It is the center of the cultural and scientific life of the city.

This is a great place to relax among traditional Japanese plants, as well as flora from other countries. The oldest zoo is located on the territory of Ueno Park, with more than a thousand animals.

Today, Ueno Park is a museum reserve. The Tokyo National Museum located here houses amazing examples of Japanese art, a rich collection of works by European artists and sculptors is represented by the National Museum of Western Art, and various exhibitions are held within the walls of the Tokyo City Art Museum. The National Museum of Nature and Science and the Metropolitan Festival Hall concert hall are also located here.

Among the famous buildings of the park is also the temple of the goddess Kannon, to whom barren women pray. According to tradition, couples who have a child bring a doll as a gift to the goddess. These dolls are burned once a year - on September 25, as a sacrifice to the goddess.

World of Samurai Park Nikko Edo-Mura

World of Samurai Park is a theme park that recreates Japanese city life during the Edo period (1603-1868). The park is a small town built in the Edo architectural style. At the entrance to the park, you can rent traditional Japanese costumes from this period, visit shops and museums, as well as take part in games, concerts and theater performances.

The town has shops selling Edo period souvenirs (teapots, prints, toy weapons), two wax museums and a prison house showing gruesome scenes of prison life. In the House of Illusions and the House of Ghosts you can feel like you are in a completely different, mystical world.

There are many gardens and parks in Tokyo. Despite the acute shortage of space in the capital, the Japanese are more willing to walk and live in capsule hotels, but not to reduce the area of ​​green spaces. Perhaps this is why Tokyo, where over 9 million people live, gives the impression of a balanced city. I wouldn’t even be afraid to say calm. In any case, it is definitely calmer than Moscow.

Eastern Gardens of the Imperial Palace

The Imperial Palace in Tokyo was built during the Edo period and was the largest in the world. Few of its buildings have survived. Almost the entire former palace area is now occupied by a park with a huge lawn in the middle. Both the park and the lawn are a favorite vacation spot for citizens and tourists.

Access to the gardens is free, but not 24 hours a day. The gates of the Eastern Gardens of the Imperial Palace are open from 9:00 to 17:00 every day except Monday and Friday. When you enter you are given a plastic ticket, and when you leave it is taken away - probably to keep track of the number of people entering and leaving the territory. After all, the emperor and his family still live in the western part of the palace.

The Edo period was the reign of the Tokugawa clan, lasting from 1603 to 1868. Edo is the old name of Tokyo, which was built and actively developed at this time, being the headquarters of the Tokugawa shogunate.

According to the guidebook, access to the buildings belonging to the emperor is granted twice a year: on the emperor’s birthday and on the New Year’s holiday. The rest of the time it is difficult to see the buildings even from a distance - they are hidden behind the trees. Through the foliage we were able to observe the training of the imperial guard. They were not very good at marching - apparently, they were completely green recruits. But elsewhere, tourists stood frozen by a hedge, recording the sounds of martial arts training on voice recorders. And it was really impressive! Although we couldn't see anything.

The most charming corner of the imperial gardens is the iris garden. Of course, there are no irises in autumn, but the garden is still beautiful. According to the information sign, there are 84 varieties of irises growing here! I couldn’t even imagine that there were so many of them in the world.

Creating and maintaining landscape parks is one of the arts of Japan, famous throughout the world. Here, in the Imperial Gardens, we met him for the first time. And later we enjoyed even more exquisite landscape gardens in Kyoto, which are discussed below.

Looking at these amazing forms of branches, you immediately remember the famous Japanese prints. Some varieties of trees do have a tendency to become gnarled, but people help them by cutting down branches and forcing them to change direction.

The desolation of this photo is an accident. There are enough visitors in the gardens. We tried to arrive early in the morning, but at the exit we were already met by numerous tourist groups with guides. And teachers of Tokyo kindergartens bring their children here to breathe the air and play sports.

Huge motley carp swim in the muddy water of the pond.

Solid stone lanterns perform a purely decorative function. We have never seen them lit. But initially they were used, of course, for lighting.

The tea house was moved here from the western, closed part of the gardens.

The tea ceremony is not held in it; it has a purely decorative function.

This part of the garden symbolically represents all 47 prefectures of Japan. A tree characteristic of the region was delivered from each prefecture to Tokyo and planted in the imperial garden.

Some of the lakes are carefully bandaged (from pests?) and reinforced with supports (hurricane winds occur during typhoons).

Fujimi-yagura watchtower, preserved from an Edo period palace.

Drawings of the Fujimi-yagura tower and general plan of the palace. The surviving fragments are marked with callouts; there are only three of them.

Grapefruit trees in the imperial garden.

The dense skyscrapers of central Tokyo are visible from many points in the park. It’s like this in my head: “Tokyo is a city of contrasts.”

One of the most amazing things about Tokyo is its amazing cleanliness. No dust, no smell of exhaust fumes even in the very center of the city. This is probably why fish and birds feel quite comfortable.

Vadakura Fountain Park

Very close to the Imperial Gardens is the small Vadakura fountain park. The fountains work alternately and with breaks, so it’s a whole action. Here you need to sit for half an hour, relax quietly in the shade of the trees, and then you will see the whole water performance.

Ueno Park

Another large park in Tokyo is Ueno. When I got there for the first time, I was perplexed: the map showed a huge pond, but I saw a field overgrown with burdocks taller than a man. In fact, the “burdocks” turned out to be lotuses growing straight from the water!

There is a temple in the middle of the Shinobazu pond on the island, and further on the shore is the Ueno Zoo. Part of the pond has been cleared of vegetation and there is a pedal boat rental service.

In another part of Ueno Park there are the Tokyo National Museum, the National Science Museum and a number of other museums.

And the same huge carp scurry between the lotus stems.

Of course, there are much more gardens and parks in the Japanese capital. I only talked about three that I managed to visit.