Parks, Yards, Gardens and Squares, Tokyo

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On weekends, a great local thing to do is wander around Inokashira Park, just a short walk through the pedestrian only streets of Kachijoji. Here, musicians play, painters paint and artisans hawk their wares while crowds of locals enjoy the lake, stroll with their dogs or just hang out. Think of it as a minor league version of Yoyogi Park. My first visit here happened to coincide with the last of the Japanese the Japanese maples turning colors. First I checked out the vendors and buskers, then I marveled at the crowd of paddle boats on the small lake (or pond) and then I stumbled onto a small temple, showing off its best side amidst the autumn leaves. THe highlight was a duo of buskers consisting of an old weathered man playing '50's and '60's blues/rock with a 3-year-old boy on a fake guitar mimicking his every move. They were hysterical!
... The area between the Kichijoji JR station and the park is equally interesting, filled with small stores, cafes and restaurants. I ate lunch at a small Thai place whose powerful basil chicken seared my insides!
... Kichijoji is just west of Shinjuku on the JR Chuo line. Take the park exit.

Visit the 'Nippon Budokan' at the Kitanomaru park! Used to be a stadium that holds 14,000 people, used for Judo in the 1964 Summer Olympics and now used as a venue to host the Pro wrestling NOAH and world famous acts like Deep Purple, The Smashing pumpkins, Dreamtheatre, just to name a few. In February, you could see the sakura bloom there in the park.. good for photographers or just people looking for peace and quietness amidst this busy city.

Free entry, take either the Shinjuku, Hanzomon or Tozai Line to Kudanshita Station.

This is a beautiful park in the middle of Meguro Ward, Tokyo. There are bicycle paths and walking paths and maps of the indigenous flora and fauna in the area. You can also relax by the pond! It's a 10-minute bus ride from Meguro station. Just get off at Meguro-Youbin-Kyoku (Meguro Post Office) busstop and cross Meguro-dori (avenue). Walk along the tree-lined street for about 15minutes then turn left before Musashi-Koyama station. You'll also see tiles on the ground written in Japanese that read 'rinshinomori'

Buried in Ueno park is the elusive botan (peony) garden, where equally elusive winter peonies peek up from the ground during the cold winter months, sheltered by straw coned houses. Photographers love this moment. Check around to find out when they'll be in bloom, usually in February, although many people may not know about them. It's hardly worth planning a trip to Tokyo for in February when the rest of Ueno is friggid, but if you're in town during the month, it's definately one of the surprise treats of the city.

You should try to visit the Hama Detached Palace Garden (Hama Rikyu) if you go to Tokyo. It's a vast garden on Tokyo Bay with a salt water pond (tidal pond, the water rises and falls with the tide of the ocean - rare type of pond in Japan, I think one of the last ones left), an attractive tea house where you can have some matcha tea (whisked green tea) and some sweets for about $6, some flower beds, and a ferry terminal that will get you up the Sumida River to Asakusa.

You should try to visit the Hama Detached Palace Garden (Hama Rikyu) if you go to Tokyo. It's a vast garden on Tokyo Bay with a salt water pond (tidal pond, the water rises and falls with the tide of the ocean - rare type of pond in Japan, I think one of the last ones left), an attractive tea house where you can have some matcha tea (whisked green tea) and some sweets for about $6, some flower beds, and a ferry terminal that will get you up the Sumida River to Asakusa.

You should try to visit the Hama Detached Palace Garden (Hama Rikyu) if you go to Tokyo. It's a vast garden on Tokyo Bay with a salt water pond (tidal pond, the water rises and falls with the tide of the ocean - rare type of pond in Japan, I think one of the last ones left), an attractive tea house where you can have some matcha tea (whisked green tea) and some sweets for about $6, some flower beds, and a ferry terminal that will get you up the Sumida River to Asakusa.

The Ueno Park is a great place in the spring to experience the Cherry Blossom festival. It is best to have a Japanese companion with you for the festival, as things can devolve into drunken revelry at times. For the most part (meaning 99.9% of the time though) it is a safe area, and a lot of fun.

The park is beautiful any time of year, although a bit of a challenge to get to. It is in the area of the Asakusa and Ueno stations on the subway and is near a lot of other interesting attractions, in case the park isnt working for you.

There is one knock against this park though, it is a very much working class neighborhood, and times haven't been so good there. It is not uncommon to see homeless men there, although they have never been a threat or a problem.