Welcome to TOKYO BEAT- a special series by your Tokyo Tourism Representative (New York Office) that aims to provide you with story ideas and inspiration. Like the rest of the global community, Tokyo is enduring the challenges of COVID-19 and doing its best to work towards returning to normalcy. This time, we’d like to present Tokyo’s Japanese Gardens to help you smell the fresh green spaces of the city. These beautiful oases are the perfect antidote to the metropolitan landscape and have been around for generations if not centuries.
Natural Pieces of History
Amazingly, numerous green spaces within Tokyo’s expanse have remained intact for centuries, offering the ability to contrast old and new landscapes. For example, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden once used to be a feudal lord’s residence in the Edo Period, which was then converted into a public park in 1949. Its immaculately maintained gardens range from Japanese to French and English, creating a truly international landscape; visitors can take a break from the city hustle with the flora and fauna, traditional bridges, and greenhouse. Also remaining from the Edo Period is Hamarikyu Gardens, which was a feudal retreat for centuries, but opened to the public in 1946. With a location between the Sumida riverfront and the city, with grounds that feature a traditional teahouse and Shio-iri Pond, which connects to the sea. While Chidorigafuchi moat is acclaimed for its Cherry Blossoms in Springtime, the way it meanders around the old Edo Castle site within the grounds of the Imperial Palace make it a delight to explore all year round. Quietly traversing this section of nature on a paddleboat is nothing short of majestic.
Architectural Gems Old and New
While cities like Kyoto and Nara may be synonymous with ancient gardens, Tokyo also displays its fair share. Originally home to a samurai, Happoen Gardensis unmistakably unique even within a sea of gems. Visitors will discover a 17th Century residence that is surrounded by bonsai trees that date back centuries, beautifully maintained grounds, as well as a koi pond brimming with Japanese Carp. The luckiest ones might join in on a tea ceremony, or spy on a wedding procession. The garden of TheInternational House of Japan, designed by a famed landscape architect during the turn of the 20th Century, is considered to be one of the most significant pieces of traditional Japanese landscaping still existing today. Tokyo MetropolitanTeien Art Museum, originally the residence of a member of Imperial family, will best lure fans of gardens, architecture and design. The site consists of three different garden areas; a Japanese garden with a tea house, a European garden, and a relaxing lawn that stretches out in front of a museum often described as "the gem of Art Deco".
To Stay or Not to Stay
It's perhaps to no surprise that some of the finest green spaces now belong to the best hotels in Tokyo. The ChinzansoGarden attached to the luxury Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo is over 140 years old and was originally created by a Meiji-era Prime Minister of Japan who built his mansion here in the late 19th Century. This was basically one of the finest plots of land in the area, named after the countless camelia flowers that blossomed here; it is even more precious today, with unchanged features like its pagoda, koi pond and endless greenery. Hotel New Otani Garden was once made internationally famous by the James Bond Film “You Only Live Twice” but historically speaking it is 400 years old and once home to samurai. Spanning 10-acres, there are waterfalls, koi ponds and bridges, and expresses a Japanese aesthetic to remember for a lifetime.
*As of May 10, Tokyo is observing a "stay-at-home" order. Venues and attractions in this newsletter may not be open at the time of this writing.
For more information on Tokyo’s beautiful parks, contact press@tokyo-nyc.com or call 917-200-4887. For general information on traveling in Tokyo, head to TokyoTokyo.jp and Gotokyo.org/en/
To visit the archives, visit:www.japansolutionusa.com/tokyobeat
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