Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

• Address: 11 Naito-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
• Opening hours: 09:00-16:30, 11:00-15:30   Rest day for garden is Monday, December 29th - January 3rd of the following year; If Monday is a holiday, the park will be closed the next day.
• Tel: +81-3-3350-0151
• Internet site: http://www.env.go.jp/garden/shinjukugyoen/index.html

The Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, originally a Japanese imperial garden, is a large park that blends Japanese, English and French garden styles across Shinjuku and Shibuya. Located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden covers an area of about 58 hectares. It is a famous cherry blossom and maple leaves viewing spot in Tokyo. It is also the main location for the animation film " Courtyard of Yi Ye " and "Lost in Tokyo".

Shinjuku is one of the 23 special districts in Tokyo, Japan. In addition, it is the most famous business district in Tokyo and even in Japan. It is one of the three vice-ministers of Tokyo with Shibuya and Ikebukuro. Shining billboards, enticing shops, trendy people in Shinjuku, which are all full of beautiful colors, can satisfy almost all the tourists' imagination of Tokyo. There are Kabukicho Street and Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden that you can’t miss.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden history

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden was the land given to Naito Kiyoshi by the Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Edo period. Since it was for strategic purposes at that time, the garden was given to the family members of the confidant. Until the Meiji period, the Japanese government began to use this large area of land as an agricultural experiment. In the field, started greenhouse cultivation and established a Japanese courtyard.

In 1906, it opened as a royal garden. It was officially opened to the public in 1949 and became a national park. In 1945, the entire park was destroyed by air strikes. After rebuilding in 1947, it was also called the three major national parks in Japan with the Kokyo Gaien National Garden and Kyoto Gyoen National Garden.

How to visit Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden?

The Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is closed every Monday, but it is open every day during the cherry blossom season in late March to late April and the Chrysanthemum Exhibition in early November. During this period, it is the time when tourists are the most. In addition, there are many types of maple leaves in the park, and the best season for maple leaves viewing is from early November to early December.

There are more than 10,000 trees in the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. The large trees such as liriodendron, french paulownia, and taxodium distichum make the garden more unexpected and unique. In addition, there are plum blossoms, cherry blossoms, magnolias and roses in full bloom in spring. In summer, there are flowers such as hydrangea, gardenia jasminoides, and lagerstroemia indica. In addition, in the autumn, there are lycoris radiata and lespedeza bicolor, osmanthus fragrans var. thunbergii and chrysanthemum, beautiful flowers in warm colors of orange and red. The flowers that bloom in winter are Japanese narcissus tazetta, prunus campanulata, etc. They blend with the snow in the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. It is beautiful.

How to enter Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden?

Tickets  for the park are automatically sold. You can get the admission card after you have invested coins in the ticket machine. Walking into Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, you can walk around and enjoy a variety of flowers and trees, which is very suitable for taking pictures. Many locals will photograph, sketch and picnic here, and many children play in the park.

How to get to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden?

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden has three entrances, namely “Shinjuku Gate”, “Millennium Valley Gate” and “Damuhu Gate”.

To “Shinjuku Gate” :

Take JR Keio • Odakyu Line, get off at the Shinjuku Station.

Take Tokyo Metro, get off at the Shinjuku Gyoenmae Station.

Take Toei Subway, get off at the Shinjuku-Sanchome Station.

To “Millennium Valley Gate” :

Take JR, get off at the Millennium Gate Station.

To “Damuhu Gate”

Take Tokyo Metro, get off at the the Shinjuku Gyoen Station.

Tips for visiting Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden:

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is a place to enjoy cherry blossoms and red leaves. It is recommended to go there in the spring and autumn.

In addition to not being able to bring pets and alcohol, cycling into the Shinjuku Gyoen, free to trample plants, ice skating and playing badminton, football and other games or sports are also prohibited, so you need to pay attention to these things.