Hama-rikyu Gardens

Hama-rikyu Gardens occupy a walled island of greenery where the Sumida River meets Tokyo Bay, and their view is one of the defining images of modern Tokyo: a classical Japanese landscape garden in the foreground, the glass towers of Shiodome directly behind it. The land was a Tokugawa family estate in the Edo period, used for falconry and duck hunting, and the gardens were largely completed under the eleventh shogun, Tokugawa Ienari. After the Meiji Restoration they became an imperial villa, and in 1945 they were given to the city of Tokyo, opening to the public in 1946. The centerpiece is the Shioiri-no-ike, the tidal pond, which is fed by seawater from the bay through sluice gates, so its level and character shift with the tides; it is the only surviving Edo-period garden in Tokyo to use seawater in this way. In the middle of the pond, reached by long wooden bridges, the Nakajima teahouse serves matcha and a seasonal Japanese sweet with a view across the water, one of the most pleasant and affordable tea experiences in the city. Elsewhere, the old duck-hunting blinds have been preserved, and a magnificent black pine, said to be around three hundred years old, spreads its branches on supports near the main gate. The seasons are well marked: plum blossoms in late winter, cherry trees and fields of yellow canola in spring, cosmos in autumn, and maples that turn in late November and early December. A water-bus pier inside the garden connects with river cruises toward Asakusa on some services. Admission is a few hundred yen, hours run from morning to late afternoon, and the garden is closed only over the New Year holiday.

Hama-rikyu is the best garden for travelers who want to understand Tokyo's layering of old and new in a single view, and it is far less crowded than the city's big parks. It is an easy addition to a morning at the Tsukiji Outer Market, which is about fifteen minutes away on foot, and to an afternoon in Ginza. Allow an hour to walk the paths and another for tea. On a hot summer day, the open lawns can be shadeless, so bring a hat; in winter and spring, the plum and canola fields are a treat that few visitors see.

How to do it: enter by the Otemon Gate if you are coming from Tsukiji or Shimbashi, or the Nakanogomon Gate from Shiodome, which is about seven minutes from Shiodome Station on the Oedo and Yurikamome lines. Walk counterclockwise around the tidal pond, stop at the teahouse, then visit the duck-hunting blinds and the bayside promenade, where you can watch ships move in and out of the harbor. Before you go, check whether a river-cruise departure fits your plans; arriving or leaving by boat from Asakusa turns the garden into a memorable half-day journey along the Sumida River.

For photographers, the reflection of the Shiodome towers in the tidal pond from the teahouse bridges is the signature shot, best on a calm afternoon. The garden closes in the late afternoon, with last entry thirty minutes before closing, and it accepts cards at the gate. For a fuller day of Japanese gardens, pair it with the Imperial Palace East Gardens or Shinjuku Gyoen. Children enjoy spotting the fish and herons that follow the tide in and out of the pond, and the flat paths are stroller-friendly. In bad weather the garden is less rewarding, since nearly everything is outdoors, so save it for a fine day and keep a museum in reserve.