Tokyo · Central Tokyo
Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens
The garden was begun in 1629 by Tokugawa Yorifusa, founder of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa family, and completed by his son Mitsukuni. The garden's name, Korakuen, is taken from a Confucian saying: 'to worry before all the world, and to rejoice after all the world', and it is attributed to Mitsukuni's adviser, Zhu Shunshui, a Chinese scholar who fled to Japan after the fall of the Ming dynasty. The garden is designated both a Special Historic Site and a Special Place of Scenic Beauty, a rare double ranking.
The design is a strolling garden around a central pond, in the kaiyu-shiki style, with the Full Moon Bridge (Engetsukyo), which was built with inspiration from Chinese bridges, and a rice field corner that survives from the time when Mitsukuni grew rice in the garden to remind the members of the family where food comes from. The garden is right next to Tokyo Dome, and the stadium roof is visible above the trees.
Good to know
- Exit C3 of the Toei Oedo Line at Iidabashi is the closest, only 3 minutes. From the JR, Tozai, Namboku and Yurakucho lines the walk from the station is longer, about 8 minutes.
- The garden is open all year except from 29 December to 1 January, unlike the imperial gardens, which are closed on fixed days of the week.
- The rice in the small rice field corner is still planted and harvested every year, continuing a tradition that Mitsukuni began in the 17th century.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens.
- HereKoishikawa Korakuen Gardens
- ~10 min
Tokyo Daijingu More to see
A popular matchmaking shrine, the shrine that shaped the Shinto wedding ceremony that is common today. Also called 'the Ise of Tokyo'. The amulet office is open 8:00 to 19:00, and the goshuin stamp office 9:00 to 17:00.
- ~12 min
Kagurazaka Stone-Paved Alleys Street
The former geisha district: stone alleys such as Kakurenbo-yokocho and Hyogo-yokocho, and French restaurants that gave the district the nickname 'Little Paris'.
- ~12 min
Zenkokuji Bishamonten Kagurazaka More to see
A temple from the 16th century that moved to Kagurazaka in 1793 and is known as 'the Bishamonten of Kagurazaka'. One of the three historic Bishamonten temples of Edo. Free, on Kagurazaka-dori Street itself.
- ~14 min
Akagi Shrine More to see
An old Shinto shrine that was redesigned in 2010 by the architect Kengo Kuma: glass and wood walls in place of the traditional structure. One minute from Kagurazaka Station.
- ~14 min
Gojuban Kagurazaka Honten Food
A meat bun (nikuman) shop from 1957, with buns twice the size of a convenience store bun, about 230 grams. 10:00 to 20:00.