Shinjuku Gyoen: East Meets West Meets..... France?

If you only go to one garden/park in Tokyo, then Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden should be it.

This huge Japanese garden has a circumference of 3.5km right in the middle of Tokyo!

As if its location wasn`t amazing enough, it isn`t pure Japanese garden design either. The garden itself is made up of three different designs:

- Traditional Japanese

- English Landscape

- French Formal

But if you are wondering why, with so many things to do in Tokyo, would a Westerner bother going to a partly Western style garden in Japan?

Because you will never see another one like it.

Put it this way, you really have to just see it for yourself. And make no mistake, it is well worth the visit.

Spring of course is a fantastic time to go, as the 1,500 Japanese cherry blossom trees come into bloom.

It has sprawling meadows, a number of ponds, a Japanese tea house, a greenhouse (which is under reconstruction until 2011), a symmetrical French garden and thousands of trees.

It really is in stark contrast to the concrete jungle that is Tokyo.

Of all the attractions in Tokyo, Japan gardens really make for a great change of pace. If you have kids, Shinjuku`s makes for a great place to have a picnic and the little ones can run around to their hearts content.

Opening Hours:

9:00am - 4:30pm

Closed:

Monday (Tuesday if Monday is a National Holiday)

and

December 29th - January 3rd.

Entry:

Adults: ¥200
Children: ¥50
Under 5 years old: Free

Leave Shinjuku Gyoen and discover more about Shinjuku, Japan.