Rikugien Gardens

It's a good place. You can get experience from exploring the nature and history in same time, with cheap tickets too! The area is pretty big, and can give you fresh air even in the middle of summer (ngl summer in tokyo is so freaking hot) but it's feel nice here.

Rikugien is famous for its shitare Sakura or willow Sakura. There is night light up event going on right now. It is very grand and I think it’s larger than the one at Ueno Park entrance. Inside park it is also beautifully designed. There were some camellia blooming. But I don’t like one thing though. Since winter just passed so the grass is still yellowish dry. I hope spring will bring some lushes of green into the garden azalea and hydrangeas please come back quickly. I am not sure if they have these flowers since this is my first visit to this garden.

The garden is peaceful, featuring a large central pond where turtles can often be seen. Near the entrance, visitors can pick up small, colorful paper umbrellas for free to enjoy a stroll around the park. By the pond, a small and charming teahouse offers the chance to taste green tea and traditional sweets for 10000 yen. It also sells handcrafted paper items. Just behind the teahouse, a small grassy hill provides a higher vantage point for viewing the garden. Please note: there are large mosquitoes in the area.

Very enjoyable park to take a stroll around. We did a daytime walk and enjoyed a Macha tea and sweet at the tea rooms. The scenery and fauna will be different based on the time of year you visit. Only ¥300 to get in and a short train ride to get there. It was very quiet when we visited - a great outing.

Had a nice time here. So many people work here to maintain it and some trees are dependent of humans to grow correctly. The pond and view are picturesque and there is a nice match place and food here inside. The staff were so friendly. Must visit to break the Tokyo city vibes.

Absolutely beautiful. This garden has a tranquil atmosphere that puts you in the present. There is so much flora to read about and admire as well as lots of birds and turtles enjoying the water. The tea house in the gardens is a must with amazing pancakes and great matcha, not even including the view when you enjoy your treats!

Beautiful gardens in traditional Japanese style. Not crowded and really tranquil. It is quite spacious with a pond in the centre. The Huge Cherry tree was just blooming. Overall, really worth visiting.

The weeping sakura tree is so beautiful. I went on a Thursday but there were still a lot of people there. There was a long line to buy the ticket at the entrance. If you wanna skip that, you can buy the tickets online. They also have a night viewing option.

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.