If you need a break from the hustle and bustle, the big lights and the neon signs, head to Shinjuku Gyoen. This enormous urban oasis is only a 10-minute walk from Shinjuku Station, yet its Edo-period pond, French-inspired lawns and Chinese-style pavilion feel a world away. Because it was once an imperial garden, the landscaping is far superior to any public park I’ve ever been to. During Cherry Blossom season, it is one of the most popular spots to sit and enjoy thousands of pretty pink petals as they fall like snowflakes all around you.
When we visited Tokyo during cherry blossom season, we had heard that this park was one of the best places to enjoy the last of the season. The sakura had bloomed early that year, and we hoped we might be in luck and find a few trees with petals still clinging to their branches. Lucky for us, the park is home to many different sakura varieties, which bloom at different points throughout the spring.
The garden has three separate entrances, which makes it easy to enter from various parts of the city. The main gate (Shinjuku Gate) is a 10-minute walk from the South Exit of JR Shinjuku Station, or five minutes from Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station. The Okido Gate is also five minutes from Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station (Exit 2). One last gate (Sendagaya Gate) sits on the south side and is five minutes from the nearby JR Sendagaya Station.
To enter this park, you do need to pay an admission fee. Admission costs ¥500 for adults, ¥250 for seniors and students, and nothing for children 15 and under. The garden opens at 9:00 a.m., though on occasion it opens at 7:00 a.m. for special early-morning programs. From October to mid-March it closes at 4:30 p.m., with last admission at 4:00 p.m., and it stays open later in the warmer months. The park is closed on Mondays and from December 29 to January 3. During cherry blossom season and the Chrysanthemum Exhibition, the garden stays open seven days a week.
If you require accessible access, the garden publishes barrier-free routes to the Shinjuku Gate from Shinjuku Station (Southeast Exit), Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station (Exit 1) and Shinjuku-sanchome Station. Once you are inside, the garden’s Universal Design map is wonderfully clear in identifying wheelchair-friendly areas. It also points out paths that are harder to traverse, such as gravel or steeper slopes. The gravel paving in the Formal and Japanese Traditional Gardens is part of the landscape design, so it is worth planning your route in advance. Great effort has been taken to make the park friendly to those with disabilities: free wheelchairs are available at each gate and at the service centre, and there are accessible washrooms in the park.
Initially, the park wasn’t owned by the city; it was private property. Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Edo shogunate, granted the land to his vassal Naitō Kiyonari, and the Naitō family later built a garden at their suburban residence, completed in 1772. Over the years, the grounds passed from a feudal estate to an agricultural experimental station in 1872 and then to the Imperial Botanical Garden in 1879. A five-year renovation planned by the French horticulturalist Henri Martinet gave the garden the layout it still follows today in 1906. Most of it was destroyed during the air raids of 1945. After the war, much effort went into rebuilding the park to its 1906 design, and it opened to the public as a national garden in 1949.
Shinjuku Gyoen is spread over 58.3 hectares! The gardens were designed in three distinct styles: French formal, English landscape and Japanese traditional. The Japanese Traditional Garden is decorated with a series of reflecting ponds, and a strolling path leads you around them. Connecting the different areas of the garden across the water are large stones, gravel pathways and a wooden-style bridge.
You’ll find a large structure called the Kyu-Goryotei, or Taiwan Pavilion, in the Japanese garden. This former imperial pavilion is, oddly enough, designed in the Chinese style. That is because it was funded by Japanese residents of Taiwan and presented to the imperial family in 1927 to commemorate the wedding of Crown Prince Hirohito. It is also one of the few buildings to survive the air raids of 1945. Today, it is a favourite place for photographs as you look out at the beautiful pond on the other side.
Take a closer look at the pond and see if you can spot some of the carp. You can also see if you can spot any of the turtles sunbathing on the rocks around the pond.
The French Formal Garden is dominated by perfect beds of roses, bordered by low hedges and framed by an avenue of sycamore trees. Two broad lawns and meticulously trimmed topiaries anchor its symmetrical design. There are around 500 rose bushes of roughly 100 varieties, and about 160 sycamores stand in eight straight rows.
The English Landscape Garden features a large open lawn dotted with towering tulip trees and Himalayan cedars, with cherry blossom trees planted mostly around its edges. The view from the Formal Garden straight across this lawn is known as the Vista Line. The area is a favourite for children to run freely on the manicured grass.
There are around 10,000 trees to be found inside the park, from tall Himalayan cedars and tulip trees to bald cypresses. Nearly 900 of them are cherry trees.
What makes this park a little different is the variety of its cherry trees: around 900 trees of about 70 varieties. A park planted with a single kind offers only one opportunity to see the flowers. Different varieties bloom at different times, which means you can enjoy the season here over a much longer stretch, from early to late spring.
The earliest cherries open in late winter, from January to early March, long before the main show begins. Among the garden’s many varieties, the weeping cherry is by far the most dramatic, its flowers delicately covering long tendrils that reach towards the ground.
Then come the Somei Yoshino, which bloom from late March into early April. This is the most widespread cherry in Japan, and with some 300 trees it is also the most numerous in the garden. The flowers are pale pink and can look almost white from afar.
The last of the main varieties to bloom is the Kanzan, which opens from mid- to late April. These are my favourite. They are known for their double blossoms, frilly waves of deep pink that make a fantastic contrast against the bright blue sky.
Springtime is the most popular time to visit the park, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. The park is large enough to find a quiet corner, but it gets extremely crowded in cherry blossom season, so plan ahead. Bring your picnic blankets and relax here under the precious petals.
In the summertime, the garden blooms with hydrangeas, one of the most popular seasonal flowers. You can also wander through the French garden, where the sycamore avenue casts long shadows and cool shade over the benches.
Outside of sakura season, the most popular time to visit is during the Chrysanthemum Exhibition. Held in the Japanese Traditional Garden from November 1 to 15, it has taken place here since 1929, with a pause from 1937 to 1948, and it is a very popular event for locals.
In the autumn, the trees change colour and create a magical sunset-toned wave across the sky. The most beautiful of these are the maple trees, which turn a deep autumnal red. The contrast of the red against the rest of the green trees is truly stunning.
Even in the wintertime, there are plenty of flowers to see. The camellia blooms in December and the white narcissus in January. In February, you’ll find the Japanese apricot and Japanese witch hazel in bloom.
Right beside the Okido Gate, you’ll find the large glass greenhouse, which opened in its current form in 2012. It is home to about 1,000 kinds of tropical and subtropical plants, including rare and endangered species. So even if nothing is budding outside, you can always find something to look at in here. The interior feels like a jungle, with wild plants growing up to the ceiling and their leaves hanging down around you. The greenhouse is divided into regional sections, from tropical lowlands and mountains to Okinawa and arid regions, so you can travel around the world in this one glass building.
There are some lovely restaurants in the surrounding area, and cafés inside the park too, but the best thing to do is bring a picnic! During cherry blossom season, this is called having a “hanami party,” or sakura-watching party. But it doesn’t need to be springtime to have a picnic. Just head to your local konbini to pick up a variety of ready-to-eat foods, lay them out on a blanket and enjoy the beauty of your surroundings. Remember, alcohol is not allowed in the park.
If you haven’t brought any food with you, there are several rest houses and cafés dotted throughout the park. Each has its own hours and last-order times, so be sure to check with the gate attendant to see which ones are serving customers.
Shouten-tei is a great place to have a cup of traditional matcha. This tea house has an open layout with panoramic views of the Japanese Traditional Garden, and it offers both table seating and raised tatami seating. Here you can take a moment to relax with matcha and Japanese sweets. It’s all about the experience: if you’ve never had a tea set in a garden-side tea house before, this is your chance! Nearby, Rakuu-tei now houses a kimono rental shop and an inari sushi restaurant.
Shinjuku Gyoen is the perfect place to escape to if the big lights, neon signs and crowds are getting to you. Shinjuku is one of the busiest parts of Tokyo, and the fact that this peaceful oasis is hidden in the middle of it, with its Edo-period pond, French-inspired lawns and Chinese-style pavilion, is fantastic. Be sure to pay it a visit and find a moment of zen in your busy travel schedule.
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