The Hamarikyu Garden


Garden Hamarikyu - one of the famous sights of Tokyo , listed in the list of historical and natural monuments of Japan . There is a garden in the mouth of the Sumida River, in the Tokyo area, Chuo. This place is very fond of photographers, because at any time of the year you can find many beautiful landscapes. The park is also famous for its rare plants. There are exhibitions of hunting birds - falcons and goshawk-goshawks, as well as a variety of hunting performances.

A bit of history

The history of the park began in 1654, when Matsudaira Tsunasige, the younger brother of the shogun Yetsuna, ordered to build a residence in the mouth of the river for himself. Then it was called "Kofu Beach Pavilion", and later, when his son became a shogun, and the residence became the property of the shogunate, it was renamed and became known as the "Beach Palace".

In 1868 the park moved to the agency of the Agency for the Management of the Palace of the Emperor and received a name that has been preserved to this day. Already in 1869 here was built the first in the capital stone building in the western style of Enryokan; up to now it has not survived - in 1889, during a violent fire, the building burned down. In 1945, the Imperial Court handed the garden to Hamarikyu as a gift to the government of Tokyo and a year later, in 1946, it was open to visitors.

Garden today

Hamarikyu Park is decorated in a traditional Japanese style. There is a unique garden of stones, pine trees grow, whose age is almost 300 years. Trees are planted at a certain distance from each other so that one can appreciate the greatness of each tree. Sakura, camellia, azaleas, peonies and many other plants grow here.

In the famous tea house of Nakajima no otai, which was built in 1704 along the cedar bridge right in the center of Hamarikyu Onsitayen, traditional tea ceremonies are held in which garden visitors can take part. The tea house is considered one of the main attractions of the park. In autumn, it celebrates a new harvest of tea.

On the perimeter, the garden of Hamarikyu is limited to the Tokyo Bay, and the park ponds are replenished with water directly from the ocean. To date, the ponds of Hamarikyu Park have remained the only ones in the city where you can observe such a miracle - a change in the water level and outlines of ponds depending on the tides.

Each visitor to the Hamarikyu garden can receive an audio guide for free, which automatically identifies the visitor's location and tells interesting facts about the corner of the park where the tourist is now. From the park you can see the skyscrapers of the station of Shiodome.

Accommodations nearby

The hotels near the Hamarikyu Park are popular with the guests - in part because of the beautiful view from the windows, in part due to the proximity of the Shiodome station, which is located in Minato, Tokyo's special district, where many embassies, foreign offices and offices of large corporations are located.

The best hotels near the park are:

How to get to the garden?

To the park, Hamarikyu can be reached by the river tram Asakusa-Khama-Rikyu-Hinode-Sambasi. You can also take the Toei Oedo line to the Shiodome E-19 station or Yurikamome line to Shiodome U-2 station and from there walk to the park on foot (about 7-8 minutes).

The park operates without days off (closed only during the period from December 29 to January 1), open for visits at 9:00. You can enter the park before 4:30 pm, at 17:00 it closes. The cost of the visit is 300 yen (about 2.65 US dollars).