Here are my favorite places to ogle the plum blossoms in all their glory! • YUSHIMA SHRINE This shrine is one of the most beautiful in Tokyo… and it not only has a ton of plum trees, it has a festival to celebrate them the whole month of February, with monkey shows, taiko performances andContinueContinue reading “Where to see the best plum blossoms in Tokyo”
Tag Archives: Tokyo garden
I Saw Another New Wild Animal In Tokyo!
There I was, drinking in the serene green at the Kiyosumi Garden… (Where, I might add, the herons on the far island were prancing around doing the “my genes are better than yours” dance) …when I nearly stepped on this. It’s a Northern Chinese Softshell turtle, and if Wikipedia is right, this one is settingContinueContinue reading “I Saw Another New Wild Animal In Tokyo!”
Butterfly Season In Tokyo
Went to check on whether the cosmos were blooming yet at Hama-Rikyu Teien garden last week and discovered that the lovely fields of gently nodding multicolored blooms I remembered were looking vastly overgrown and (honestly!) kind of ratty. I was about to stalk away muttering, “Disappointment, thy name is Hama-Rikyu” when the corner of my eyeContinueContinue reading “Butterfly Season In Tokyo”
Great Balls O’ Flowery Fluff: Tokyo’s Best Hydrangea Gardens
If someone says “hydrangeas” and you think “boring white puffballs,” you haven’t seen the outrageous ones in Tokyo yet! Here are my favorite hydrangea garden extravaganzas, and they’ll be blooming ’til the end of June, just sayin’… MINAMIYAMA HYDRANGEA MOUNTAIN in Musashi-itsukaichi As you can see, these are wild hydrangeas at their finest! The trail winds up a gully lined withContinueContinue reading “Great Balls O’ Flowery Fluff: Tokyo’s Best Hydrangea Gardens”
Where To See The Best Iris Gardens In Tokyo
Fields of riotously blooming Japanese iris? Yes, please! The iris gardens in central Tokyo are small, but choice; the ones in the outskirts are vast and exuberant and well worth a pilgrimage! Here are the best places in and around Tokyo to see the Japanese iris extravaganzas of your dreams: HORIKIRI IRIS GARDEN in Horikiri-shobuen TheContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Best Iris Gardens In Tokyo”
The Best SECRET Cherry Blossom Spots In Tokyo!
Cherry blossoms and crowds go together like long bathroom lines and hanami parties, but at these secret Tokyo spots, you can enjoy the pinkness without getting trampled, even at peak season! Here are my favorite places: • ARK HILLS New for 2019! The Ark Hills development in Roppongi is nothing to write home about…until you see theContinueContinue reading “The Best SECRET Cherry Blossom Spots In Tokyo!”
Where To See The Best Plum Blossoms In Tokyo
Suddenly, on the busy shopping street of Kappabashi-dori: these! I am a total, total sucker for plum blossoms. The flowers are much more beautiful than cherry blossoms up close, and you gotta admire that the damn things even bloom in the snow. I mean, they famously bloom in the snow (thousands of haiku can’t be wrong.) HereContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Best Plum Blossoms In Tokyo”
Where To See The Best Fall Leaves In Tokyo
I hope you’re all rested up from our cherry blossom death march last spring, because it’s time to strap on your camera and a couple of extra batteries to hunt down the best autumn leaves in Tokyo! Here are my picks, from momiji season through ginkgo: Arranged from earliest to latest: SHOWA KINEN PARK There areContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Best Fall Leaves In Tokyo”
Where To See The Best Chrysanthemums In Tokyo
These eye-popping exhibitions will change your opinion of those humble fall flowers forever! Here’s where to see the best chrysanthemums in Tokyo: • JINDAI BOTANICAL GARDEN It’s worth the trip out to Chofu, just to see the cartload of fox tails But they also have the full complement of pagodas, Elvis pompadours, perfect specimens of manyContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Best Chrysanthemums In Tokyo”
Gorgeous Japanese Hydrangeas
Remember those big white snowball-y bushes that bloomed next to Grandma’s porch all summer long? Believe it or not, those everyday flowers were where they started hybridizing to get these fancypants. Some temples in Japan have whole hillsides covered with so many varieties of hydrangea, you can’t count them. Here are a few: •
Peonies As Big As Dinner Plates!
If you could smell these right now, you’d be in heaven. Nishiarai Daishi Temple, Tokyo Not to be outdone by the cherry blossoms, azaleas and wisteria, the peonies of Tokyo come into their glory in May and June! First the big boys, like these at the Hama-Rikyu Garden, then the lovely fragrant ones at NishiaraiContinueContinue reading “Peonies As Big As Dinner Plates!”
Cherry Blossoms Lit Up At Night: My Favorite Spots!
Oh no, don’t think you can put your feet up and flip some channels after the sun goes down during cherry blossom season – thanks to the current craze for “illuminations,” the ogling opportunities will seriously cut into your TV time. Here are my favorite nighttime viewing spots. Get thee to the nearest grove and give your camera aContinueContinue reading “Cherry Blossoms Lit Up At Night: My Favorite Spots!”
The Godzilla Of Cherry Trees
Don’t let this big daddy sneak up on you in the dark! In Japan they don’t mess around when it comes to cherry trees. I saw this explosion of goodness last night at Rikugi-en garden in Tokyo, where they light up the all-powerful sakura until 9:00 every night during The Season. But this one isn’t the only monsterContinueContinue reading “The Godzilla Of Cherry Trees”
Early Spring At Shinjuku Gyōen
Today it was raining. But I went to Shinjuku Gyouen garden anyway. If you’d like to visit Shinjuku Gyō-en garden the next time you’re in Tokyo visit my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had. •
The Secret Garden
Behind the long, boring building mostly known for blocking views of the pagoda at Senso-ji is the secret garden of Denpo-in. Within those walls is a serene retreat used by the priests for meditation, closed to the public except for a few days each year. But if you’re in Tokyo right now, woo hoo, it’sContinueContinue reading “The Secret Garden”
Today’s Special Guest: Winter
Conveniently scheduled for a national holiday so hundreds of thousands of commuters wouldn’t be inconvenienced by trains that occasionally had to pause while snow and/or ice and/or tree limbs could be cleared from the tracks, this year’s 24 hours of winter did not disappoint! Snow bucketed down from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. as theContinueContinue reading “Today’s Special Guest: Winter”
Stealth Holidays Of Japan
Nooooo! How could it be Monday morning already? If I hide my head under the pillow, will it go away? Ugh, even through the pillow, I can hear the rain. Wow, I really, really, really, really don’t want to get out of bed. Or get packed onto a train full of snuffling commuters and wetContinueContinue reading “Stealth Holidays Of Japan”
So How Come Azaleas Are Chopped Liver?
Cherry blossoms are definitely the favorite child. Back in March, as The Season approached, the newspapers all breathlessly reported the movement of the pink tide from south to north, weather forecasts were read as anxiously as tea leaves in order to plan trips to cherry infested locations at the exact moment of full bloom, andContinueContinue reading “So How Come Azaleas Are Chopped Liver?”
Just When You Think It’s Safe To Ditch The Muffler…
Yep, if the plum trees are blooming, that means a giant dump of snow is just around the corner. This particular dashing of spring hopes comes with such clocklike regularity in Japan that haiku masters use “plum blossom” when they’re actually talking about surviving life’s more bitter lessons. •
Only In Japan 