Japan’s first public park, opened in 1873 on the grounds of a destroyed temple, is a plateau of museums, shrines and cherry trees above the busy station. Within its 50 hectares sit the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art in a Le Corbusier building, the Science Museum, the zoo, a concert hall and a statue of the samurai Saigo Takamori walking his dog. In spring it hosts the loudest hanami party in the city.
Give the park a whole day. Start with a museum in the morning, picnic by the fountain, then descend to Shinobazu Pond and Ameyoko as the light fades. The broad central avenue is the cherry-blossom corridor.
Tips
- Cherry blossom in late March brings a thousand trees into bloom and blue tarpaulins underneath them, with lanterns lit after dark
- Toshogu Shrine, gilded in 1651 and often overlooked, sits behind the zoo entrance and is worth the small fee
- Buskers and street performers gather by the fountain on weekend afternoons