Hamarikyu Garden, Tokyo

Hamarikyu Garden was constructed as a residence of a feudal lord in 17th century and was an official duck hunting ground for the Tokugawa Shogun. In 1704, it became a second residence for the Shogun. Today the park is government owned and open to the public.

Located on the banks of the Sumida River, the park contains a tidal pond that receives water from the Tokyo Bay. There is a teahouse located on a small island in the pond that serves green tea with Japanese sweets for 500 yen. At the park entrance, there is a large pine tree known as sanbyakunen no matsu, or three hundred years old pine, which is said to have been planted by the 6th Shogun Ienobu himself in the 17th century. This tree is the biggest pine tree in Tokyo. My wife and I visited in autumn and found the fall foliage to be fantastic here.

The Sumida River Water Bus stops at the garden on its way to or from Asakusa. The trip via Water Bus from Hamarikyu to Asakusa takes about 35 minutes and costs 620 yen. From Hamarikyu to Hinode Sanbashi Pier, it takes about 5 minutes and costs 100 yen.

Hama Rikyu Garden is located near Tsukiji Fish Market. We took a shor twalk from the Fish Market to the garden. There is an entrance fee to the Garden.

The plants are cleverly planted so that you will see some flowers blossom in every season. The river view is beautiful and you can see the tidal wave close to the mouth of the river. Duck pond, causeway bridges, tea house, Japanese Garden, Peony Garden are some of the highlights of the garden.

The Garden is between an expressway and the Sumida River. If you take the river boat from Asakusa, you are given a choice to alight at the garden with a small fees. You can board the river boat all the way to Tokyo Bay area at Odaiba.

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This gorgeous little teahouse is in the Hama Detached Palace Garden. Most of the park (including the teahouse) was burned during a bombing raid in 1944, but the teahouse has been rebuilt. We had the added bonus of being here in the springtime, so everything was blossoming.The garden itself is a great place to have a walk in ( or even take a picnic maybe?), as it has many quiet little spots, beautiful ponds full of carp, and even 'street performers' for your entertainment. There is plenty of space for the kids to run around and let off steam if they are feeling the 'crush' of Tokyo.

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Walking round this island garden I felt cut off from the city. The garden has an abundance of water in & around it. The focal point of the garden is a huge pond, on one of the islands is a Japanese tea house which can be visited via the wooden bridges.

This serene garden is a river stop on the Sumida boat ride. It used to be a duck hunting for Japanese noblemen.

With the bricks and blocks of urban Tokyo, it is a welcome greenery. The layout of the garden is simple, zen like and the lakes reflects the buildings and the trees and the colorful flowers of the season.

In the middle of town, this well-hidden park was previously a hunting ground for the Shogunate more than 400 years ago.

The park is beautiful with its numerous walkways, gardens, houses and ponds.

Don't miss the Peony garden as well as the 300 years old pine.

This magnificent park includes the only sea water pond in Tokyo. It changes scenery as the tide goes up and down. As you can se on the picture, walking on the bridges that cross the ponds offer a magnificent scenery.

Close to the pound, you will find the Shin-senza Duck Hunting ground which was in use until 1944. With its small size, it must have been easy to make a good catch !

Built in 1907, it has seen generation of shoguns and noblemen. It's on an artificial island in a center of a great park. The building was rebuilt with care in 19843

To access it, you need to walk on a 118 meter long bridge constructed of Japanase cedar. The bridge was rebuilt in 1997.