12 Shinjuku Gyoen Park
Tokyo’s finest park is the perfect respite from the city
In spring, cherry blossoms briefly bathe Shinjuku Gyoen in a delicate pink hue. In summer, lush green foliage is punctuated by varicolored rose beds before autumn brings rich, earthy tones and fallen leaves carpet the sprawling lawns. On the few days of winter when snow falls on Tokyo, the park is quiet enough to hear the frost and snow crunch underfoot. Throughout the year, there really is no finer place to escape the rigors of the city without having to leave it.
Shinjuku’s level of park perfection was a long time in the making. The park dates back to the Edo era when it was part of a daimyo’s residence, and it then became an imperial garden during the Meiji period before opening to the public shortly after World War II. Over those years it has developed into a wonderful mishmash of garden styles, its 57 hectares (140 acres) combining formal French garden designs, traditional Japanese elements, English landscaping and a greenhouse complex that is home to some 2,400 tropical and subtropical species. Encircling the lawns and ponds you can add to all that 20,000 trees, ranging from Himalayan cedars and bald cypresses to the blossoms that make the park’s central lawn a stunning cherry blossom viewing spot in late March and early April.
What’s just as amazing is the location. As you stroll in the peaceful grounds, silence threatened only by birdsong or the hum of summer cicadas, it’s hard to believe you are within walking distance of the heaving streets of Shinjuku (page 37) and one of the world’s busiest train stations. My advice for when Tokyo gets a little too busy for you is to pack up a picnic and a good book and take yourself off to Shinjuku Gyoen for a few hours.
Opening Times 9 a.m.–4.30 p.m. (last entry 4
p.m.). Getting There A 10-minute walk from JR Shinjuku Station (multiple lines) or a five-minute walk from either Shinjuku-gyoen-mae Station on the Marunouchi Line or Shinjuku 3-chome Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line. Contact www.env.go.jp/ garden/shinjukugyoen Admission Fee ¥200.
13 A Hike Up Mount Takao
A taste of Japan’s great outdoors on Tokyo’s doorstep
With more than 70% of the country being mountainous, no matter where you go in Japan a good hike is never far away, even in Tokyo. Mount Takao (aka Takao-san) is a prime example. At 599 meters (1,965 feet), and with the option of taking a cable car or chair-lift more than halfway to the summit, serious outdoor types wouldn’t break a sweat on it, but it’s proximity to central Tokyo and the opportunity it affords to take in a small part of Japan’s stunning great outdoors make it a great day trip nonetheless.
In all, there are seven trails that lead to Takao-san’s peak. While the most commonly used (by those who don’t take the cable car, anyway) is trail #7, opt instead for the quieter trail #6, an at times steep route through forest that leads past streams and a waterfall, in the process revealing many of Takao’s 500 or so types of wild flowers and plants. The reward for your effort—on a clear day, at least— will be majestic views from Takao-san’s summit out west to Mount Fuji. On the way back down, take trail #1 so you can pass through the colorful 8th-century Yakuno-in Temple. In fact, for a very special experience related to the temple, visit Takao on the second Sunday in March for the Hiwatarisai fire ritual. Crowds flock to the event to watch yamabushi (monks who practice Shugendo Buddhism) walk barefoot over burning fires and smoldering coals, and many of the spectators end up gingerly doing the same after the coals have cooled to a safer temperature.
For information on longer hikes in the region, check out Lonely Planet’s excellent Hiking in Japan guidebook or visit www.outdoorjapan.com.
Getting There The cable car and hiking trails are a five-minute walk from Takaosan- guchi Station on the Keio Line, which can be reached in about 50 minutes from Shinjuku. Allow up to two hours to hike from the station to the peak if you don’t use the cable car. Contact www.takaotozan.co.jp. Admission Fee Free, but charges apply for the cable car or chairlift.
Rainbow Bridge connecting Odaiba with central Tokyo
Nijubashi Bridge over the Imperial Palace moat
Manga and anime advertisements in Akihabara
Gundam statue at Odaiba
Mount Fuji looming over Lake Ashi in Hakone
CHAPTER 2
EXPLORING TOKYO
Nezu Shrine
At turns futuristic, at others unerringly traditional, in places tranquil but most often invigoratingly un-Zen like, the patchwork of districts that comprise Tokyo’s core make the city hard to define. Next to the chic stores and fashions of Omotesando are the sanctity of Meiji Jingu Shrine and the brash teen fashions of Takeshita-dori. Rubbing shoulders with the traditional landscaping of Hama-Rikyu Gardens are the glistening towers of the Shidome area and the sprawling warehouses of the Tsukiji Fish Market. Like a mini Tokyo within Tokyo, Shinjuku has bits of everything. The area guides that follow will help you discover not just the best Tokyo has to offer but each of the contrasts, faces, traditions and quirks that make the city such a vibrant and unforgettable place to visit.
1 Tsukiji, Ginza and the Imperial Palace
2 Omotesando, Harajuku and Shibuya
3 Asakusa
4 Ueno and yanesen
5 Akihabara and Shinjuku
6 Roppongi
7 Odaiba
8 A Day Trip to kamakura
9 A Day Trip to yokohama
10 An Excursion to Nikko
11 An Excursion to Hakone and Mount Fuji
EXPLORING TSUKIJI, GINZA AND THE IMPERIAL PALACE
A tour of downtown Tokyo
See pull-out map H7; H10; J9–10
Some cities, it is said, never sleep but Tokyo isn’t one of them. Despite the crushing crowds of the morning rush-hour trains as millions of office workers descend on central Tokyo to meet their 9 a.m. check-in, Tokyo doesn’t have all that much for early risers. Besides temples and shrines, most tourist attractions and shops don’t open until about 10 a.m. The Tsukiji Fish Market is a welcome exception to that rule.
By 5.30 a.m., just as the first trains of the day are starting up their engines,