There were two places in particular that made me want to live in Tokyo so that I could always enjoy that peaceful and beautiful walk. The Shinjuku National Garden and Meguro River.
Shinjuku Gyo-en National Garden
This was another aspect of our trip that I was really excited for. I would have loved to come when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, but unfortunately we missed it. The part was still stunningly beautiful though. You had to pay 200 yen to get in, but that’s small change. It’s definitely worth it. We picked up a map and it was huge! We basically picked a direction and started walking.
The park has many areas to walk and explore, but the main appeal are the three landscape gardens. Each one is inspired by a different place. One is the traditional Japanese garden, one is French inspired, and the third is English. My favourite was the Japanese garden. It was so serene and peaceful. Filled with pavilions, bridges, lakes and koi. Seeing the buildings peek out from behind the trees was a surreal reminder that we were still in the middle of a busy urban city.
We ended up wandering around for literally hours.
You did end up forgetting after a while that you were still in town. There were heaps of people around, but everyone was spread out. The lawns were quite packed with people having picnics and basically just enjoying the day.
We often stopped to take photos of everything. Both Rory and I took turns with the camera. It was an amazing way to spend half the day. If you’re ever in Tokyo, you have to make sure you stop by here. Be prepared to spend hours walking around!
Meguro River
Another spot that I wanted to see in all it’s cherry blossom glory but you can’t have everything in life. Meguro River is another place where you can spend hours walking. We didn’t spend too long though as we’re not used to 28 degree weather (82 degrees for my American friends), and I thought I was melting. It didn’t take away too much from us enjoying the scenery though.
I did ask Rory to take quite a few photos of me at the river, as there were so many photo op spots. My lovely husband was happy to snap away, despite us both melting in the heat.
We walked up and down the sidewalk a few times, making sure to take lots of break in the shady spots of the trees. Lots of people walking and on bikes passed us by too. This is clearly quite a popular spot.
Finally, just before we decided to head back. I spotted some pink hedge flowers giving off sakura vibes. So of course, we had to snap one more picture. This has since become my Instagram profile pic.
Both of these places were definitely some of my favourite places in Tokyo! They were on my radar before even going to Japan and while I’m a little sad I missed out on the cherry blossoms, they were still incredibly beautiful spots!
Previous Japan Posts:
- Akihabara, Shibuya and Shinjuku
- Skytree and Mt Fuji
- Wizarding World of Harry Potter
- Kyoto and Osaka
- Museums and Shrines
- Zoos and Cafes
- Japan Highlights
I’m aware that my blog has been taken over by Japan posts, but I have so much I wanted to share! I’m almost at the end now, but writing these has been such a fun way of reliving our holiday!
Angela.
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