Rikugien Gardens

Even though we missed the cherry blossom blooming time as we were visiting early in March - the visit was well worth the trouble. Immaculately maintained and being tended for affectionately, the garden was really as good as it could prior to the blooming time. The walking pathways were clean, the plants well cared for over the winter months, the water body had clear fresh water with lots of ducks enjoying themselves. The numerous rustic bridges over the water body makes for interesting views and photo opportunities.

Beautiful garden in the middle of the city. Unfortunately they don’t have an entrance right where you get off the station, so you have to walk another 10m around to the other side of the garden. Admission is 300¥ per adult, and as we visited during peak autumn foliage season there were quite a few people/groups around but it was still very much enjoyable. Walk off the main path for a quieter atmosphere and take the time to wander around and sit down to soak it all in. You could sit down and relax with a tea and sweets if you wish.

Visited by bike! It's one of my favorites because you can enter for just 300 yen per adult and enjoy a nice walk for about an hour. There's plenty of greenery and a pleasant breeze, so I highly recommend it.

The night show was quite an event, glad we were there to see. Sky was clear, a bit cold, a bit dark 😏. There was enough helping staffs and direction signs along the arranged paths. Not crowded at all. Just a pity the huge Cherry Blossom tree only started flowering, a full blossom would be magnificent!

A beautiful garden built in the Edi period of the 1730s. The garden was designed to revolve around the lake and thenisland. It was said to have 88 different views of gardens and surroundings based on where you are along the lake's path. Overall, it was a good experience.

Visited in November 2023. Tokyo city is not just the busy areas and shopping district, Tokyo has very beautiful areas , that are away from the busy side. You just need to explore and walk around to find quiet places full of nature and a relaxing environment. The park is a natural forest, to walk in the morning and relax, hear the water sound, the birds chirping and the wind touching the trees leaves. There are small shops, restrooms, a teahouse, and a food stall.

Unfortunately, sakura had just started blooming. We were too late to refund our tickets so might as well go right? These were taken on 3/24/24. It was raining that day, but there were still a good amount of people that showed up with umbrellas. There were cute tea houses. Perfect for a date and the light-up was really nice. There are other things to see like Matsu trees. They don’t offer a night-time showing normally so it was a real treat!

Such a serene and relaxing garden! The tea house serving matcha and Japanese sweets completes the experience. What a great way to connect with nature!

November 2018. Pros: - gorgeous autumn colors, huge Japanese maple trees - cool weather, nice and sunny - clean bathrooms, western toilets (bring your own hand towel) - small shop with snacks and trinkets for sale - benches and tables to take breaks and enjoy the view - huge garden with an awesome history, many areas to visit, lots of photo ops Cons: - little bit of a walk from the train station (there may be shorter route than the one we took‍) Verdict: will go again if the opportunity arises!

My crew saw the signs for this place when we had a couple hours to kill before our window for ramen opened up. We decided to go and check out the garden to see what it looked like. We joked that since it was in the middle of a giant city area, it was probably gonna be 3 trees. We were wrong. It was a long-ass walk to get to the entrance, and then once we got in, it was just this huge green expanse. There's so much to look at here. It's 300 yen to enter (we enjoyed it so much, we swung back around after eating, and our ticket was good for readmission.) and it was probably the more relaxing 300 yen I spent the entire trip. There are some fantastic views, the waterways have koi fish and turtles swimming about in there, and some of the scenery is just gorgeous. If I'm ever in the area to eat ramen again, I will also be swinging by this area to take in the views again.

Beautiful garden to visit if it's your first time in Tokyo! I came here by myself and it was 300 yen for the admission fee. The garden was simple, but there are lots of spots to sit down and enjoy the scenery or a picnic. I especially liked the spot on the top of a hill that overlooks most of the park. There are some benches up there and it's not that high. I also enjoyed seeing the large koi fish swimming around in the ponds. I think I saw some turtles too. The flowers weren't really in bloom in mid-April, but the photos make autumn look gorgeous.

Nice Japanese Garden. You can see a lot of pine trees.

* "Friendly local" garden * Rikugi-en is an oasis in the middle of a busy city. I love spots like this - where you can sneak away from the crowds and just relax while quietly strolling and sitting. Amazingly somehow the noise of the city just disappears. I was a bit too early for the cherry blossoms. But perhaps that was a good thing, as I was also way too early for the cherry blossom viewing crowds. :) There were a few visitors, but mostly people who looked like they were from just around the neighbourhood as many knew each other. After going to the top of Fujishiro, a kind elderly man (I would guess in his late 80's) arrived at the top of the hill to admire the view. He started chatting and pointed out his apartment in the view nearby. He comes every day to the garden and knew a lot about the history. He told the stories of what it was like during World War II, of how the garden changes in each season, and even picked up some particular leaves to crumble them in his hand and encouraged me to smell. Such a friendly man - who came out of nowhere. After telling his stories he said farewell and disappeared back down the hill as quickly as he appeared - perhaps to come back the next day for the next visitor. What a lovely visit and encounter with a "friendly local." :) Photos: http://www.yelp.ca/biz_photos/%E5%85%AD%E7%BE%A9%E5%9C%92-%E6%96%87%E4%BA%AC%E5%8C%BA?select=NtHR_hmlDcVpDHxL09XIvQ#NtHR_hmlDcVpDHxL09XIvQ http://www.yelp.ca/biz_photos/%E5%85%AD%E7%BE%A9%E5%9C%92-%E6%96%87%E4%BA%AC%E5%8C%BA?select=3jvz8XknvowVbgjTJlwVSQ#3jvz8XknvowVbgjTJlwVSQ http://www.yelp.ca/biz_photos/%E5%85%AD%E7%BE%A9%E5%9C%92-%E6%96%87%E4%BA%AC%E5%8C%BA?select=1U5TfKfCjbUG1r7W9BIuYw#1U5TfKfCjbUG1r7W9BIuYw http://www.yelp.ca/biz_photos/%E5%85%AD%E7%BE%A9%E5%9C%92-%E6%96%87%E4%BA%AC%E5%8C%BA?select=qezwdpB5UfrD9bhF59JijQ#qezwdpB5UfrD9bhF59JijQ http://www.yelp.ca/biz_photos/%E5%85%AD%E7%BE%A9%E5%9C%92-%E6%96%87%E4%BA%AC%E5%8C%BA?select=6f4tOsUZfhmzF8HAKRGydQ#6f4tOsUZfhmzF8HAKRGydQ

I'll be very honest. I'm not a huge landscape kind of guy. We're here in Japan for our honeymoon. We were brought here luckily by our host while we stayed here. My wife was excited since it was one of the top things to do in Tokyo. The entrance fee is 3 Yen a person. I guess that's not a lot? Translates roughly to 2.80 cents give or take. It's a giant land area where you can wall around and take pictures. There are 88 sites to see while you're here so keep your eyes posted. The Carp/Koi fish were HUGE!! Pretty little bridges and trees with bamboo huggers. It was pretty but boring for my taste. Would I personally come back here if given the chance. Probably not. But it was worth to see the scenery.

If you've got only a few days in Tokyo and have time for only one Japanese garden, DO NOT bother going to this one. We chose this initially due to all the RAVE (super misleading)reviews here on Yelp, but in fact this was a very disappointing visit. I used to live in Japan and have visited many Japanese gardens, and compared to other Japanese gardens, this one is not at all impressive. It's probably fine if you live nearby and need a little nature. But if you want to impress family & friends, this is NOT the garden that would do it. We visited during the end of August, and the majority of the "garden" was brownish. There are many pathways that meander throughout, and some paths eventually enters into the woods area. It felt like we were hiking through the Minnesota woods, very similar to spots in Minnesota, instead of enjoying a beautiful zen "Japanese garden". The pond and streams were murky and brown, it was surprising to see that anything could live in there, but we did see some sad looking Koi fishes. Even in the woods we could hear the school kids at their after school sports practice next door screaming and laughing. Did not feel peaceful or magical at this place. If you've only got a few days in Tokyo, please go to another Japanese garden, this one is a disappointment.

We went during the fall illumination and were in the awe the entire time. The gardens are probably beautiful in the daytime but the illuminations were absolutely stunning! There were many people visiting that evening and therefore was crowded. The crowded lines moved slowly and people were stopping everywhere to snap photos. That was perfectly fine for me because when visiting such a beautiful place, I wanted to take my time and just enjoy everything around me. My husband enjoyed the gardens as well and took time to snap many pictures. The weather that evening was cool and crisp - perfect for taking in the lovely ambiance around us. If you're out in Tokyo/Bunkyo area during the fall, check out the evening illuminations!

My favorite one.. I came during fall illumination event.. I stayed at tea house beside pool park, enjoying matcha and wagashi while waiting the sun set.. I choose that way coz I wanna enjoy the scenery before dark.. and .. I got it .. I take a round 2 times and still amaze

Such a beautiful botanical garden to take a leisurely stroll and relax. There's a small cafe in the old Japanese style where you can sip on matcha tea or amazake and have a small Japanese sweet. So serene and green. Perfect where there's a breeze while you enjoy the lake view. I bet it's even more gorgeous when different flowers are blooming or when the leaves are changing colors.

Ouch.. we went there for foliage. and this was a bad decision. Really.., there hardly was foliage there even if it was supposed to be '見ごろ' .. or right time to see.. when we went. Very disappointed. I could see much better foliage in my neighborhood. They were also doing the 'light-up' (tree illumination) but it just looked artificial to me. Also, it was on a long weekend, and there were a way too many people.. I might give it another try for the cherry blossoms, but never again for foliage.

My photos honestly does not do this park justice. Here you will find tranquility and peace in the middle of Tokyo. Once inside, it's hard to believe you still in the city. Rikugien Garden is considered one of the most beautiful Japanese gardens in Tokyo. The garden consists of a pond, a hill, trees and 2 tea houses; so simple yet exquisitely sculptured, tweaked and lit up. I went with my aunt and uncle one night at the end of November, enjoying some matcha and chagashi (sweets to go with the green tea) in the tea house as we took in the autumn leaves from afar. Make sure you bring your cameras and lenses when you go to capture a part of Rikugien Garden home.

A nice park to have a quite walk. Not as nice as Koishikawa Korakuen but still pretty. When we went in late February the water level was very low so it wasn't anywhere near as nice as the first time I went in September.