Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Koishikawa Korakuen Garden
Laid out in 1629, Tokyo's oldest surviving garden was commissioned by
Tokugawa Yorifusa, lord of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa family. Its
designer, Tokudaiji Sahei, was aided by the Confucian scholar, Zhu Shunshui,
a Chinese refugee from the fall of the Ming dynasty. Many famous spots
found in China and Japan have been re-created in miniature here. The
garden was once a kind of theme park itself, a recreational space for the
Tokugawa clan to entertain visitors, clamber up its miniature hills, float in
barges on its pond, and stage poetry parties.
Top 10 Features
1 Tsuiji Walls
2 Rozan Mountain and Lotuses
3 Symbolic Rice Field
4 Tsutenkyo Bridge
5 Engetsukyo Bridge
6 Kuhachiya House
7 Horai-jima Island
8 Iris Garden
9 Inner Garden
0 Plum Orchards and Yatsu-hashi
Verdant rice field, ideal for
taking tea
Try to get to the
garden when it
opens at 9am, before
the amusement park
next door gets into
full swing. In the
fierce summer
months the garden
is much cooler at
this time as well.
!
Tsuiji Walls
The current wall is a
reinforced concrete imitation
of the original
tsuiji
plaster
walls, but moss and staining
from Tokyo's steamy
summers have given the
newer walls a patina of age.
Kantoku-tei, a
teahouse with a
room facing onto
Oigawa River, serves
omatcha
(powdered
green tea) along
with a traditional
Japanese sweet.
• Map E2
• 1-6-6 Koraku,
Bunkyo-ku
• 3811-3015
• Open 9am-5pm
• Adm
@
Rozan Mountain
and Lotuses
Miniature landscapes
recalled famous places
in poetry and mythology.
Below this imitation of
Mount Lu in China
(above)
is a sacred lotus pond.
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Symbolic Rice Field
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Tsutenkyo Bridge
Spanning a deep
gorge and supported on
piles, the bridge
(center)
is a replica of a structure
in Tofuku-ji, an important
temple complex in Kyoto.
Its reflection in the waters
of the shallow river
below amplifies its size.
Created to show the
hardships faced by peasant
farmers, a rice field lies to
the north of the garden.
Elementary school children
plant and harvest the crop.
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