Mukojima Hyakkaen and Mukojima Garden
Tokyo is known as a noisy, concrete jungle type of city, crowded with people. However, there are many green spaces and parks in Tokyo. We can show you how to find a number of lovely gardens and parks in central Tokyo.Obviously people living in Tokyo love greenspaces and flowers and we have a history of enjoying nature in the city going back to the Edo period. You can trace this history by visiting the Mukoujima Hyakkaen, an historic garden.
Mukoujima-Hyakkaen is a small Japanese style garden that was privately established by a man in the antique business back in early 1800s. Mukoujima-Hyakka-en is not a luxurious garden in the grand scale, of say an European garden, but is a small wild garden in the middle of the frantic metropolis of Tokyo.
However this is the only garden of its kind left from the Edo period. It is amusing to find that all the weeds in the garden are Japanese or Asain varities. Nowadays, many weeds you see in Tokyo are introduced from species from western countries. I think the gardenkeepers must weed out every western weed, one by one, to keep it as a genuine Japanese garden :-)
Mukoujima-Hyakkaen is a good place to see ordinary traditional Tokyo and to enjoy the atmosphere of Shitamachi (traditional residential districts).
Near the garden, I found a Sushi restaurant named Take Zushi and decided to go in. While eating very tasty Sushi, I imagined Edo people enjoying eating Sushi after visiting the garden more than 200 years ago.
Mukoujima Hyakkaen
3-18-3 Higashi Mukoujima Sumida-ku
Open 9:00 am - 17:00 (5:00) pm
(Entrance is closed at 16:30 or 4:30pm)
Closed: End and the beginning of Year (Dec 29 -Jan 3)
Admission: 150 Yen
How to get to Mukoujima Hyakkaen
Take the Tobu Isesaki Line and get off at Higashi Mukojima station. It is a 8 minute walk from the station.
Or
Take the Keisei Oshiage Line and get off at Keisei Hikifune station. It is a 13 minute walk from the station.
