Travel in Japan
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Tokyo’s Garden – Different World in the City
Japanese gardens fall into two main categories: the dry landscape garden (kare-sansui) and the stroll-through garden (kaiyu-shiki). The former is better known as the Zen garden and consists primarily of raked sand that represents a river and rocks. As landscape gardens are much more associated with Kyoto in the Kansai region, it is stroll-through gardens that you are most likely to come across in Tokyo.
On entering a kaiyu-shiki garden, stepping stones lead you through a landscape that is likely to consist of artificial hills, evergreen trees – especially manicured pines –, a carp-filled pond and bridge, stone lanterns, flowering bushes such as hydrangea and rhododendron, as well as rocks, moss and bamboo. A lot of these gardens also have a traditional tea house, strategically situated to allow impressive views.
While Tokyo is best known for the Imperial Palace East Garden, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and Ueno Park, it has many more impressive parks than that.
Rikugien Gardens
This garden, created in 1702, is based on the theme of waka poetry and the winding path will lead you past view points inspired by scenes from these poems.
Perhaps the best view of all is from the tallest hill, the 35-meter high Fujimi-yama. From here, you can look down on the large pond with its island, stone bridge, and semi-submerged rock formation. The park is impressive at any time of the year as each season offers something different: the cherry blossoms in early spring, hydrangeas in early summer and the red maples in autumn.
Kyu Furukawa Gardens
This Taisho period house and garden is only a 30-minute walk away from Rikugien Gardens, so together the two make a day trip. The European-style house in whose grounds the garden lies was designed by the British architect Josiah CONDOR. Condor had a great influence on Tokyo at this time and it was one of his students that designed the Tokyo station complex.
On the slope that leads to the main entrance to the house, there is a Western-style rose garden, with a wide variety of different types neatly organized into columns. The roses look great when in full bloom in May and October.
Kyu Furukawa Gardens shows this marriage of East and West perfectly. Head down the slope and a small path will lead you to a kaiyu-shiki garden. It is much smaller than the one at Rikugien Gardens but offers a pleasant walk around a pond inhabited by ducks, turtles and large carp. There are also points strategically arranged to allow you a chance to see the impressive house in the background.
Hama-rikyu Gardens
Hama-rikyu Gardens is located next to Tokyo Bay and its tidal ponds use sea water. Once the site of a Shogun’s villa, then a detached palace used by the Royal family, the garden is now best known for the contrast it provides to the skyscrapers of the Shiodome district that tower in the background. At ground level, you are in a Japan of the past, where the path meanders through a peony garden, past miniature pine, plum and cherry blossom trees.
One of the buildings that loom over the park, the Caretta Shiodome tower, has excellent free viewpoints on the 46th floor, as well as restaurants and bars that enable you to see over the park and beyond across Tokyo Bay. The park is also one of the river bus stops and from here you can catch a boat to Odaiba or Asakusa.
Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens
This is the oldest of the Tokyo gardens, founded by TOKUGAWA Mitsukuni (aka MITO Komon) after adopting a Chinese scholar’s advice in the 17th century. There is a Chinese feel to Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens and the park tries to recreate miniature versions of famous views in China and Japan. The garden has a particularly impressive collection of cherry blossom trees and is one of the famous spots for hanami in spring.
The problem with Korakuen is that a fairground was built next door and the occasional scream from the roller coaster riders doesn’t lend itself to that sense of calm that you feel the garden aims for.
Kyu Iwasaki-tei Gardens
Kyu Iwasaki-tei Gardens is a combined Japanese-Western house, with a lawn garden in front. Hisaya, the first son of IWASAKI Yataro, who was the founder of the Mitsubishi conglomerate, had British architect Josiah Condor design the house. It is the views of the house from the garden that are impressive rather than the garden itself.
Palm trees in front of the entrance create an exotic atmosphere. As you look at the white-walled building with its verandas and shuttered windows, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Malaysia at the time of the British Empire. The garden itself is fairly simple, consisting mainly of a vast stretch of lawn that was once three times larger. The tables on the lawn with parasols also make it a great place to have a rest.
(From June Issue 2009)
