Kyu-Iwasaki-tei Gardens

The Iwasaki estate was built in 1896 as the residence of Iwasaki Hisaya, the third president of the Mitsubishi conglomerate. The Western-style wing, a two-story wooden house with a basement, was designed by Josiah Conder, the British architect who also designed the first building of the Tokyo National Museum (which collapsed in the 1923 earthquake) and the Rokumeikan club. The style mixes Jacobean, English Renaissance and Islamic motifs, inspired by country houses in Pennsylvania, where Iwasaki studied.

Originally 20 buildings stood on the estate's 15,000 tsubo (about 49,500 square meters). Today three remain: the Western-style wing, the billiard room (also by Conder, in mountain-hut style), and the Japanese great hall. After the war the place was taken over by a secret investigation unit of the American occupation, and in 1952 it became state property and served as the training school for judges until 1970. The park opened to the public in 2001.