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Cherry blossoms and the pond at Shinjuku Gyoen

Gardens & parks

Gardens and parks in Tokyo

Tokyo's feudal lords left behind landscape gardens that now sit between office towers. Add the city's big parks and you can find a quiet green hour in almost any neighborhood.

55 places · 11 nationally protected

In the Edo period every feudal lord kept a residence in the shogun's city, and the best of their gardens survive as public parks. Koishikawa Korakuen and Rikugien are classic stroll gardens, built around a pond with hills, bridges and teahouses that recreate famous landscapes. Hama-rikyu, on the bay, still fills its pond with seawater from the tide. Nine of these old gardens are run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association and charge a small entry fee.

Shinjuku Gyoen, a former imperial garden, mixes Japanese, English and French styles and is Tokyo's favorite cherry blossom spot. Kitanomaru Park, on the grounds of the old Edo Castle, leads to the cherry-lined moat at Chidorigafuchi, and Mukojima-Hyakkaen is a small flower garden from the early 1800s in east Tokyo.

Good to know

  • Cherry blossoms usually peak in late March or early April; maples turn in late November to early December.
  • Most landscape gardens close at 5 p.m. and stop entry 30 minutes earlier, with longer hours for seasonal night lighting.
  • Picnics are fine on the lawns of Shinjuku Gyoen, but the old landscape gardens are for strolling only.

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More Gardens & parks in Tokyo

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Questions

Which Tokyo garden is best for cherry blossoms?

Shinjuku Gyoen has the most trees and varieties, so the season there runs for weeks. Rikugien's weeping cherry and the moat at Chidorigafuchi are the classic photos.

Do I have to pay to enter Tokyo's gardens?

The old landscape gardens and Shinjuku Gyoen charge a small entry fee. City parks such as Kitanomaru Park are free.

What is a stroll garden?

A Japanese garden laid out around a pond, with a path that reveals a new view at every turn: hills, islands, bridges and teahouses, often modeled on famous landscapes.

Sources

We checked the facts on this page against these sources.

Gardens & parks elsewhere in Kanto

More to see in Tokyo