Kyū-Shiba-Rikyū Garden

photo by Christophe95 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Kyū-Shiba-Rikyū: garden from 1678, granted by the 4th shōgun Ietsuna, 150 yen

The garden dates from 1678, when the fourth shōgun (the military ruler who governed in place of the emperor) granted the land to his counsellor Ōkubo Tadatomo, who built a circuit around a large pond with islands, inspired by the West Lake in Hangzhou, China. The gate is a minute's walk from Hamamatsuchō Station.

One of the four gardens of daimyō (the feudal lords of pre-modern Japan) that survive in Tokyo from the early Edo period, along with Koishikawa Kōraku-en, Rikugi-en and Hama-Rikyū. It changed hands among a number of daimyō families until 1846, when it passed to the Kii branch of the Tokugawa; it became an imperial residence in 1871 and a detached imperial villa in 1876. In January 1924, for the wedding of Emperor Shōwa, it was donated to the city of Tokyo, which opened it to the public on 20 April of the same year. It covers 43,175 square metres, and has been a 名勝 (meisho) since 1979: the national designation for places of scenic beauty.

ℹ️ Open 9:00–17:00, last entry 16:30; closed from 29 December to 1 January. Ticket 150 yen, 70 for over-65s (120/50 for groups of 20 or more); free up to and including elementary school, for junior high students who live or go to school in Tokyo, and for holders of a disability certificate plus one companion. Free entry on 4 May and 1 October. A minute's walk from Hamamatsuchō Station.

🚉 Hamamatsucho · 4 min walk

Sources: tokyo-park.or.jp · ja.wikipedia.org

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