Notes about Japan. Gardens and parks of Tokyo. Japan: Gardens and parks in Tokyo Tokyo gardens

Okuma Garden is located on the territory of one of the buildings of Waseda University, in the Shinjuku area of \u200b\u200bTokyo. It is a mixed garden, partly Western and partly Japanese. The garden area is approximately 3000 square meters.

The garden was originally the seat of the Matsudaira clan and the Ii clan. In 1884, the founder of Waseda University, Okuma Shigenobu, rebuilt the garden in the then fashionable Western style. In the heart of the garden, a wide lawn was spread, and artificial hills and ponds were landscaped around its perimeter. Greenhouses were also built here, in which melons were grown for the first time in Japan. After Shigenobu's death, the garden was taken over by Waseda University.

The park has streams with floating fish, flowering plants, and walking paths with stone pagodas, statues and old lanterns erected along the edges. The decoration of the garden is considered to be a small copy of the Korean bell, which was presented by Korean graduates for the centenary of the university.

Classic Japanese Oriental Garden

The classic Japanese Oriental Garden is part of the imperial palace complex in Tokyo.

The gardens are open to the public, unlike the palace. The garden is an example of traditional Japanese garden art. The garden is especially beautiful in spring during the cherry blossom season.

On the territory of the garden there are some administrative buildings, a music hall, as well as an Edo-era castle. This entire small area was recognized by the Japanese government as a "special historic relic" in 1963.

Chinzan Garden

Chinzan Garden is a typical Japanese garden located in the Bunke district of Tokyo. It was built in 1877 and covers an area of \u200b\u200b66,000 square meters.

During the Meiji era, this land belonged to Prince Yamagata Aritomo, who built his own estate here and called it the house on the camellia hill, or Chinzan-so. During the construction, all the beauty of the relief was taken into account so that all the natural resources of this place were emphasized.

Previously, government meetings were held on the territory of the garden, and documents found here testified that Meiji held meetings with influential dignitaries here.

After the estate was handed over to Baron Heitaro Fujite, he decorated it with sculptures from the Japanese cities of Toba and Kyoto. At the very top of the hill, a three-story pagoda was erected, which was brought to this place from the mountains of Hiroshima, where the monks had built it even earlier, without using a single nail.

In the heart of the garden is the Shinto Shrine of Inari, which was brought here from Kyoto. Also, the garden is decorated with carved Taossian and Buddhist images and more than thirty stone lanterns. The park contains a waterfall, streams, a spring, a large pond and a sacred tree, about 500 years old

Kansen-en garden

Kansen-en Garden is located in Tokyo's Shinjuku area, and is a typical Japanese garden. Its area is approximately 14,000 square meters.

The garden was originally the seat of the Shimizu family, the most influential during the Edo period, and belonged to the Tokugawa clan. During the Meiji Restoration in 1867, the garden was taken over by the Viscounts of Souma.

The name of the garden is translated from Japanese as “fresh spring garden”. This is due to the fact that there was a spring here, from the water of which delicious tea was prepared.

The garden itself is designed in the style of the Edo period, in its center is a pond called Yamabuki-no-Ido. The pond is surrounded by Japanese rose bushes. In the southern part of the garden, Mount Mishima-yama rises, climbing which you can observe picturesque views of the area. Also nearby is the Shinto shrine of Mizu Inari.

Shin-Edogawa Garden

Shin-Edogawa Garden is an old Japanese garden located near the Kanda River in Tokyo's Bunke district. The name of the garden translates as New Garden by the Edo River. Until 1965, this section of the Kanda River was called Edo. The garden covers an area of \u200b\u200bapproximately 18,500 square meters.

Originally, the garden was owned by the Hosokawa samurai clan, which ruled the Kumamoto region during the Edo period. Then there was the residence of the Hosokawa family. As a result, in 1959, the garden was donated to the city.

In part, the garden sits on the side of a hill, where observation decks and paths are located, as well as a source that feeds the ponds below. The ponds are mostly home to red carps. The garden is decorated with pagodas, bamboo hedges and stone lanterns. The building at the entrance to the garden was built during the Tais era and was intended to teach the Hosokawa family.

Koishikawa Korakuen Garden

Koishikawa Korakuen Garden is the oldest landscaped Japanese garden in Tokyo.

Kiyosumi Garden

Kiyosumi Garden is located in the Fukugawa district of Tokyo and is a traditional Japanese-style garden. It covers an area of \u200b\u200bapproximately 81,000 square meters, and was founded in 1875-1885, at the direction of Iwasaki Yataro - the largest industrialist in the Meiji era, one of the founders of the Mitsubishi brand.

The garden is located near a huge pond with three islands and a tea house. Around the shore of the reservoir there is a walking path that surprises the visitors of the garden with local beauties. From the bustling streets of the suburbs of Tokyo, the garden is separated by a narrow strip of trees and shrubs. The garden's pond is inhabited by turtles, carps and a large number of birds - gulls, ducks, herons, arriving here from the Sumida River.

Stones also make the garden unique. The entire Iwatari family searched all over the country for beautiful large cobblestones and boulders, which were then brought here by Mitsubishi steamers. Dry waterfalls, artificial hills and shallow water paths were built from boulders. The garden contains so many boulders and boulders that it is sometimes called a rock garden.

Hamarikyu Garden

Hamarikyu Garden is one of the most unusual and beautiful places in Tokyo. It was originally built in the 17th century by order of a local feudal lord who loved to relax here. The perimeter of the garden is surrounded by the magnificent Tokyo Bay, and the Hamarikyu ponds flow into the ocean. This is a unique place for photographers, as it is home to many of the rarest flowers and plants.

The garden is designed in a traditional Japanese style. Here you can see a magnificent display of stones, as well as take part in a unique tea ceremony held in a cool wooden house with a magnificent view of the Bay. On the territory of the park there is a small temple, a dock for water buses, sluice structures, as well as the remains of a historic dock from which Prince Tokugawa Ieyasu sailed to his ancestral castle.

The combination of the local ultra-modern skyscrapers with traditional Japanese park art gives tourists the opportunity to enjoy an original landscape that combines a peculiar interweaving of eras.

Mikojima Hyakkaen Garden

Mikojima Hyakkaen is a garden in Tokyo. It was created during the Bunka-Bunsei era (1804-1830) of the Edo period.

Mikojima Hyakkaen is somewhat different from feudal gardens such as Koishikawa Korakuen and Rikugien. This beautiful garden was opened by the wealthy antiquarian Kikku Sahara, who teamed up with prominent writers and artists of the time.

The garden became famous for its hundreds of plum trees. The Mikojima Hayakkaen Garden offers different types of flowers at any time of the year. In October 1978, the garden was declared a historical monument.

Mikojima Hyakkaen Garden is located near Higashi-Mukojima and Keisei Hikifune stations.

East Garden of the Imperial Palace

The eastern gardens are part of the castle's defensive fortifications that existed during the Edo period (1603-1867). There were two protective circles: honmaru (main circle) and nihonmaru (second circle). Today, the main buildings of that period have not survived in the Eastern Gardens, but visitors can see the moats, walls, gates and several gatehouses. Edo Castle was the seat of not only the Tokugawa shoguns, but also the Meiji Emperor. The remains of the foundations of the former palace are still visible on the lawn of the central hill. The castle was a typical castle of that era and was not much different from the surviving Osaka-jo. But the main tower of the ruined Edo Castle (built in 1638) was considered the tallest in Japanese history. But it was destroyed only a few years later, in 1657 it was destroyed during the famous "Edo fire".

Kawachi Fuji Garden

Four hours' drive from the bustling Tokyo, Kitakyushu, there is an amazingly beautiful place - the Kawachi Fuji flower garden, consisting of flowers of incredible beauty. The Wisteria Tunnel is the most striking attraction of this place and one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

A special feature of the garden is the millions of flowers that hang like waterfalls. This is wisteria. And wisteria in Japan is called Fuji. The symbol of Japan, Fujiyama, bears the same name as these flowers. In Japan, wisteria symbolizes youth, poetry and feminine beauty, healing and protection. These plants are very common in Japan and are almost as popular as the famous Japanese sakura. Deciduous wisterias of various colors and shades hanging from special frames can be found in any park in Japan. But there are so many of them in Kawachi Foods that they create an unimaginable feeling.

Riku's garden

Riku Garden is a traditional Japanese garden in Tokyo. It was built in 1702.

In 1695, the shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi presented these lands to his supreme adviser and favorite Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu. The garden was designed by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu based on waka poetry. In 1938, Riku's garden was donated to the Tokyo government.

The garden area is 87,809.41 square meters. In the center of the garden there is a large pond with islands. On the largest island there is a hill 35 meters high. This hill offers stunning views of the garden. On the middle island are the hills of Imo-yama and Se-yama, which symbolize the divine spouses Izanagi and Izanami.

Kairakuen Garden

Kairakuen Garden is the oldest landscaped Japanese garden in Tokyo.

Its construction began in 1629 under the Tokugawa shogun Erifus and was completed under his successor.

The garden reproduces in miniature Japanese and Chinese landscapes, using ponds, stones, plants and creating artificial hills. Thus, while walking through the park, you can visit the sacred Mount Fujiyama, the Kiyomizu-dera Temple, and the famous West Lake in China.

The garden is especially attractive in the second half of November during the leaf fall season, in February when the Plum Festival is held, and in April during the cherry blossom season.

Kyu-Furukawa Garden

Kyu Furukawa is the most beautiful garden in Tokyo. It was created at the beginning of the 20th century by the Japanese businessman Furukawa Ichibei.

Tokyo is one of the four largest cities in the world and the most complex at the urban level. It abounds not only in architecture, but also in the most beautiful and spectacular botanical gardens and parks.

Truly artistic creations. The combination of plants, water, sand and rocks reflects natural beauty. They invite tourists to meditate and just relax. Ponds that simulate lakes, rocks that are islands or mountains, trees that are modeled over the years with precise shapes, as well as bonsai in pots ... Trails that traverse the gardens and stop at lovely teahouses where you can climb and contemplate the reduced in size nature ...

Traveling through Tokyo be sure to look into one of the parks. It takes at least an hour to get around this miracle of nature and craftsmen.

Koishikawa Korakuen... The 7 hectare garden was built in 1629 by the Mito Tokugawa family. A walk on it brings real pleasure. Lake, island, crescent of the arch of the bridge in the waters of the pond ... This garden is a real miracle!

Rikugi-en... The garden is a typical example of Edo period gardens. The trail from the very entrance will lead tourists to a magnificent lake, and then to a 35-meter elevation, from where you can enjoy the panorama of the park itself and the city.

Hama-Rikyu... This is Tokyo's most spectacular park. 250 hectares of gardens and lakes will not leave anyone indifferent. The park is home to a 300-year-old pine tree, as well as a spacious and varied peony garden with 60 different types of these lovely flowers.

Kyu Shiba-Rikyu... This is another prime example of Edo period gardens. Artificial hills inviting to enjoy the landscape, ponds and mountain ranges ...

There are many other gardens and parks in Tokyo that amaze with their grandeur and beauty.

When is the best time to go to Tokyo? The climate in the capital of Japan is relatively mild throughout the year. It rains from late June to mid-July, so the humidity is high. On the contrary, winter is dry and with a cloudless sky. So if anyone is suffering from high and stifling humidity, take a trip in October or November. It is cold in Tokyo in winter, but there is practically no snow. April is another stellar month for tourism because it is the month of local outdoor festivities and typical Japanese gardens in all their glitter.

As you know, the capital of Japan is Tokyo - a powerful industrial, economic and cultural center of this amazing country. On the territory of the city and in its surrounding districts there are several entertainment complexes, each of which is interesting in its own way and worthy of repeated visits. However, the most ambitious, popular and socially significant one can with complete confidence be called " Tokyo Dome City"

Located in the heart of Tokyo. This is a huge sports and entertainment complex, which includes an indoor baseball stadium for 55 thousand spectators, a concert complex where performances of world celebrities take place, a complex of spa treatments "LaQua", a hospitable Tokyo Dome Hotel, shops , restaurants and, of course, the center of fun pastime - an amusement park called " Tokyo Dome City Attractions".

One of its most exciting rides is an extreme roller coaster called "Thunder Dolphin". Thrill seekers climb into trolleys and climb to a height of 218 feet, from where they plunge down at an angle of 80 degrees and race at 130 km / h. The trip is spiced up by its unusual track, passing through the holes in the building of the complex " LaQua"and the center of the 80 - meter" Ferris wheel "called" Big-O"which is devoid of a central axis.

Another exciting attraction is called " Tower haker", it slowly lifts passengers to a height of 80 meters, pauses for a short time, giving an opportunity to observe the spreading panorama, and then suddenly descends downward at a speed of 100 km / h, stopping literally two meters from the surface of the earth. During this entertainment, visitors are gripped with nothing incomparable feeling of free fall, which, having experienced once, most people dream of repeating again. For such extreme lovers in the park there is another attraction called " Skyflower", which gives a real air travel by parachute, which also ends with a free fall.

Also park " Tokyo Dome City Attractions"famous for its exciting attraction" The pipeline". The opening of this roller car took place in 1985 and its main difference is a rotating trolley with passengers, which gives a lot of additional sensations to an already extreme ride.

Tokyo Dome City amusement park map

Visitors with children will love the "Magical Mist" play area, which is a special cover with holes for small fountains. The kids play with pleasure in the water, while the parents relax on the bench at this time, enjoying the surrounding beauty. Adult visitors wishing to also freshen up a little can visit the "Wonder Drop" attraction, which begins with a relaxing ride in a swaying boat and ends with an unexpected fall into the pool from a height of several tens of meters.

Amusement Park "Tokyo Dome City Attractions" is waiting for its visitors daily from 9 am to 10 pm. The entrance ticket for an adult visitor is $ 25, for children over the age of three - $ 18.

Tokyo Dome City amusement park on Tokyo map

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The sakura blossoms in spring bring a festive mood to Tokyo. For city dwellers, cherry blossoms are a symbol of celebration, nostalgic and aesthetic pleasure, or just a great reason to have a party. All residents of the city want to go outside and spend as much time as possible under the flowering trees.

In Tokyo, the hanami season begins in the second half of March and lasts approximately two weeks. The exact dates of flowering are highly dependent on weather conditions. The city has hundreds of parks, streets, gardens, temples and rivers with sakura trees. And today we want to tell you about the twenty most popular places in Tokyo for admiring cherry blossoms.

Moat Chidorigafuchi

Hundreds of sakura trees grow along the moat of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. To admire the luxurious flowers not only from the shores, you can rent a boat and take a walk along the water surface covered with fallen petals, which are especially abundant at the end of the flowering season. The Tidorigafuchi moat is an incredibly beautiful place, especially when all the flowers are in bloom. It is such a popular hanami destination that you can queue for hours before renting a boat.

Shinjukugyoen park

Shinjukugyoen is a 144-acre park located in the central Shinjuku district of Tokyo. The park is home to about 1,500 sakura trees. The park is large enough and it is easy to find a quiet place in it. There are over a dozen different types of cherry blossoms in the park, and there is a fee to enter, and visiting hours are limited. This is a popular cherry blossom spot for the whole family, so noisy parties are often held here.

Ueno Park

For a huge hanami party, visit Ueno Park. It is always crowded and very noisy here. The park is 133 acres and is home to about 1,000 cherry blossom trees that line the wide alley and shores of Shinobazu Pond. In addition, the park has sakura species, the flowers of which bloom earlier than anyone else in Tokyo.

Meguro river

About 800 cherry trees grow along the banks of the Meguro River in Nakameguro. During the Nakameguro Sakura Festival, they light up brightly at night. The Meguro River itself looks more like a city canal, but the trees are very beautiful here. It's a great place to walk, but there isn't much room for parties. The area is full of trendy shops, cafes and restaurants.

Yoyogi Park

The park has 134 acres and about 600 sakura trees. This park is already a very visited place, but during the hanami season, there are much more people.

Inokashira Park

The park is 95 acres and is home to about 1,000 trees. Young people are traditionally going to celebrate here with khans, because there are several large universities nearby. The park is also popular with couples who love to ride swan-shaped boats on Inokashira Pond. However, according to local legend, such couples are believed to be doomed to part.

Koganei park

With 196 acres, Koganei Park is the second largest park in Tokyo. About 1,700 sakura trees grow here, which attract huge crowds of people during the hanami.

Sumida Park

This is a small park on the banks of the Sumida River. About 1000 cherry trees grow along its banks. During hanami season, you can also enjoy the river cruise. The park is located near the Tokyo Skytree.

Koishikawa Korakuen Garden

Koishikawa Korakuen is one of the oldest gardens in Tokyo, dating back to 1629. The garden offers visitors to admire several varieties of cherry blossoms, including early weeping cherry blossoms. There is a fee to enter the garden and visiting hours are limited.

Roppongi Sakurazaka

Roppongi Sakurazaka is a street behind Roppongi Hills lined with 75 young cherry trees, which are also beautifully illuminated at night. It is a very popular walking spot for couples. In addition, Mori's Garden in Roppnogi Hills also has cherry blossom trees that you can admire.

Aoyama cemetery

In Aoyama Cemetery, several hundred cherry blossom trees form a pleasant alley that runs right through the cemetery. Office workers in the area often take a stroll down this alley during lunchtime or in the evening after work. It would seem a bit uncomfortable to have parties among the graves. But, perhaps, it could cheer up the deceased.

East Garden of the Imperial Palace

The East Garden of the Imperial Palace is a park next to the Imperial Palace that contains the ruins of Edo Castle, several gardens and fields with sakura trees. The park is open only during the day, there are no parties here, so the place is quite calm and not noisy.

Yasukuni Shrine

Near the Yasukuni Shrine there are about 600 cherry trees. The temple hosts the Sakura festival, which attracts about two hundred sumo wrestlers. They don't have parties here.

Rikugien Garden

The Japanese Walking Garden, founded in 1695, is considered one of the finest gardens in Tokyo. In hanami season, the visiting hours of Rikugien increase and several cherry trees are illuminated.

Shiba Park

It is a small park next to the Tokyo Television Tower with 70 cherry blossom trees. During the hanami period, it becomes one of the most populous small parks in Tokyo.

Komazawa Olympic Park

A fairly large park in Setagaya, popular with students at the nearby Komazawa University. There are about 100 sakura trees in the park.

Hamarikyu Gardens

An Edo period garden with a large pond surrounded by a salt water moat. In addition, the garden is surrounded by the skyscrapers of the Shidome business district. There are about a dozen cherry blossom trees in the garden, and during the hanami season, illumination is often turned on here.

Kitanomaru Park

Kitanomaru Park is located on the other side of the Chidorigafuchi Moat. The moat itself offers the best views, and Kitanomaru Park has much more space for parties and picnics.

Hibiya Park

Hibiya Park is located in front of the Imperial Palace and the entrance to the Imperial Hotel. It is not very popular during the hanami season, but there are also several cherry trees growing on its territory.

Kinuta Park

A large lawn-lined park in Yoga, near the Setagaya area. The park is lined with sprawling cherry blossoms, under which the nearby residents usually take up the party space. However, the park is much less crowded than the rest of the more popular hanami spots.

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Tokyo Gardens & Parks Like any metropolis, Tokyo needs a breath of fresh air, the source of which is the many gardens and parks set among modern skyscrapers and highways.

There are many green park areas in the city - these are Ueno, Kitanomaru parks and others. But especially interesting are the old Japanese gardens, carefully preserved by the inhabitants of Tokyo. I also want to tell you about two such gardens. Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden
Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden is located in the city center among skyscrapers and highways, but close to the water area of \u200b\u200bTokyo Bay. The garden is small, but with its own history. It was founded at the beginning of the 17th century, during a period called Edo in Japanese history. Since then, the garden was owned by many feudal lords, emperors, each contributed something of their own to the garden's layout, but in 1923, as a result of a fire caused by a powerful Kantor earthquake, all buildings and many trees of the Kyu Shiba Rikyu garden burned down. And yet this amazingly beautiful garden was restored in almost a year and is open to the public.
Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden is the standard of traditional Japanese gardens. In the center of the garden there is a pond with several small islands. A stone bridge leads to one of them - Nakajima Island, which also has its own name - Yatsuhashi. The island rises as a hill, entwined with a path. Along it you can climb to a squat pine tree, in the crown of which an old stone lantern in the form of a miniature pagoda is hidden, and admire the view. Along the banks of the pond, there are more than one elevation, convenient for viewing. There are streams in the garden, there is a "dry waterfall" Karetaki, which has become a stone path to the top of the highest hill Oyama. The banks of reservoirs and streams are lined with stones. Each of them is put strictly in its place, so that none of them violates the harmony of the landscape, but makes it natural.
But the most memorable object of the garden is still a large stone lantern on three legs, which has become a symbol of this garden. This type of lantern is called yukimi-doro. It is installed near water and is made of old stones. The roof of the lantern is flat and is made so that snow lies on it in winter. The lantern in the Kyu Shiba Rikyu garden is called "Stone lantern for admiring the snow". There are several other lanterns in Kyu Shiba Rikyu and each of them is interesting. In the pond, right in the water, there is a small oki-doro lantern made of white stone. Lanterns of this type are always low and are placed either in the water or next to a pond on pebbles.
To the left of the entrance on the bank of a small pond with fish and a stone bridge among the bushes and flowers, there is a Kasuga-doro lantern. Such lamps - with a high leg, a hexagonal roof and with drawings on the firebox - are placed in an open place. But the lantern on the island of Nakajima is more like a yama-doro lantern - it is overgrown with moss and installed in a secluded place, as if hidden from view.
Another element of the Japanese garden - a gazebo entwined with long branches of wisteria - attracts with coziness. The gazebo itself is set on a gravel site. Inside the gazebo there are tables and benches where you can not only relax, but also work on the computer or read. Another gazebo, installed on the east side of the garden, is intended not only for relaxing and admiring the garden, but also for talking. The benches in it are so placed that the interlocutors can sit comfortably and talk.

The art of creating such gardens came to Japan from China. But over the centuries it has acquired its unique features and can rightfully be called Japanese. The gardeners of Kyu Shiba Rikyu garden have created unique compositions of carefully trimmed bushes, stones, flowers and pines, whose gnarled branches look into the water, as if admiring their reflection. This is how "living pictures" are created - changeable, acquiring new details, if you look at the water surface from different points of the garden.

Nowadays, one of the elements of such paintings are skyscrapers that surround the garden from all sides. One involuntarily recalls the Shinto rule about the constant renewal of the world, about the combination of the old and the new in life and in art. Each visitor to the garden can also create his own "living picture" simply by being reflected in the surface of a pond among skyscrapers or pine branches, or lush inflorescences of Chinese lilacs, or next to swimming fish ...
GardenHamaRikyu
The Hama Rikyu Garden is located on the shores of Tokyo Bay at the confluence of the Sumida River, and originally its territory was the hunting ground of the Tokugawa shoguns (16-17 centuries). In 1704, the shogun Inabi built the Hama Goten palace there, which means "coastal palace". The garden became a resting place for the shogun's family and a place for official receptions.
On the island of Nakayama, which is located in the heart of the garden's pond, there is still a teahouse from the shogunate days. A 118-meter Japanese cedar bridge leads to the island. The bridge has recently been renovated and its unpainted railings whiten over the surface of the pond.

In the tea house, you can have tea with Japanese rice cakes and admire the mini-garden, where a low stone lantern is half-hidden among the greenery. Such lanterns are called Oribe doko, after the peasant Oribe, who professed Christianity, but, fearing persecution, hides this. To pray in his faith and not to arouse undue attention to himself, he traced a cross on the lower part of the lantern and hid the leg of the lantern in the green of the bushes. Since then, such lamps have been called by his name.
A path of flat stones, which are laid on gravel, leads to the house. According to tradition, circles are drawn on the gravel, creating a special kind of landscape around the stones with greenery. This has a philosophical meaning. The Japanese are contemplators of the beauty of nature and create it themselves.
By winding along the paths of the garden, you can go to a small house resembling a chapel. This is Kyu Inabi Jinja - a Shinto temple with all the attributes: there is a haiden - a prayer hall, followed by a honden - a kami sanctuary; there are torii in front of the haiden, there is a pool for ablution.
This temple belonged to the shogun Inabi - the founder of the Hama Rikyu garden. The building itself has been rebuilt more than once. Today the temple, as in the time of Inabi, adorns the garden, in the silence of which the thought flies into the distant past, and the imagination draws long-gone pictures of life.
Hama Rikyu Garden has many hidden and interesting corners. And in each one you can admire the amazingly whimsical pines - nivaki. This type of tree is used to decorate Japanese gardens because they form well. If bonsai trees are miniature decorations of the inner chambers of houses, then nivaki are pearls of Japanese gardens. There are eight known varieties of nivaki.


Hama Rikyu's garden contains several thousand different nivakis. Every two years, each tree is sheared. So the gardeners have enough work for every day! Among all the niwaki, a three-hundred-year-old pine tree, miraculously preserved during the 1944 fire that broke out during the bombing of Tokyo, occupies a special place.
Nowadays in Hama Rikyu you can admire the flower meadows, decorated with different varieties of flowers, depending on the season. In September, it is a bright, colorful space.

There is a "flower elephant" on the ground in front of the garden entrance. Its "body" is made of many baskets of succulents and bunches of herbs. The elephant is watered like any flowerbed, and it "blooms", delighting the visitors.
The pond of the garden was chosen by ducks, and the banks and crowns of pines - a huge flock of crows. Ravens are special in Japan. They have a humped beak and they scream like demanding hungry children. But watching these birds is interesting.
The Hama Riko Garden is surrounded by water on three sides. At high tide, the water in the pond rises, but today its level is regulated by sluices. Hama Rikyu has a river tram pier where you can ride the Sumida River.
In this garden there are also hills for viewing, where stone steps lead. There are also stone lanterns hidden among the gnarled branches of the nivaki. It is a pleasure to wander around the garden and it is always a pity at such moments that time is limited and there is still so much to see. Hakone National Park and Mount Fuji-san
If you ask any person how he associates Japan with, I think most of the respondents would answer: "With Mount Fuji." Outside of Japan, this mountain is often called Fuji or Fujiyama, but the Japanese themselves pronounce the name of the largest mountain in the Japanese islands through "ji" with the addition of the respectful prefix "san" - Fuji-san. The conical beauty is sacred and is worshiped as a kami deity in the Shinto religion.
At the foot and on the slopes of Fuji-san there are many Jinja temples - Shinto temples. The bright red torii of the Itsukushima temple, flooded with water, are clearly visible near the shores of the picturesque Lake Ashi, along which tourists make a half-hour voyage on schooners stylized as pirate ships.

Mount Fuji-san is of volcanic origin, it stands at the junction of three tectonic plates and was formed about a hundred thousand years ago. Fuji-san's height is 3779 meters. The last volcanic eruption happened in 1707, when Tokyo was still called Edo. Volcanic ash at that time covered the streets of Edo with a layer of fifteen centimeters. And this despite the fact that the city is located at a distance of eighty kilometers from Fuji.
Fuji-san's slopes are formed from basaltic magma. Today, the foothills of Fuji-san and its steep slopes are covered with dense forests. Conifers grow in them, as well as birch, mountain ash, maples. Thanks to deciduous trees, Fuji-san is especially beautiful in autumn, starting in October, when the leaves of the trees take on a beautiful golden and red color. And in spring, sakura blossoms at the foot of Fuji-san, enveloping the sacred mountain in a cloud of pink and white flowers. I had to be content with the sight of Fuji-san, half hidden by the clouds. On approaching the mountain, I managed to photograph her until she covered herself with a cloudy negligee at all. And when we arrived at the fifth station at an altitude of 2400 m, from where those wishing to conquer Fuji-san go to the ascent, both the mountain and the entire district plunged into clouds, pieces of which clung to the tops of trees and bushes and slowly crawled along the basalt slopes. Fuji-san's popularity, both among the Japanese and among the guests of Japan, is enormous. Approximately 200,000 people climb the mountain every year, of which a third are foreign tourists. The Japanese are of the opinion that anyone who gets to the mouth of Mount Fuji will gain immortality. And tourists are driven by sports interest and the desire to see the beauty of the mountain itself and the valley stretching under it for many hundreds of kilometers. Around Fuji-san, the Hakone Nature Reserve is formed, named after the old Hakone volcano (1150 meters), located near Fuji. Now its mouth is the picturesque lake Asi, from which a cable car goes beyond the pass. In spacious and open to 360-degree carriages, you can reach the Owakudan Valley of Geysers in twenty minutes.
The geysers are of sulfur-hydrogen composition, but the smell there is moderate and a walk along the slopes of the "smoking" mountain, where sulfur is extracted, is a pleasure. There you can also taste eggs boiled in a hot spring, the shell of which turns black during the cooking process.
In the northern part of the reserve, beyond Fuji-san, in the Misaka Mountains, there are five most picturesque lakes formed after the Fuji-san eruption, when lava flows blocked rivers and streams. These lakes are called Fuji lakes. All the most beautiful photographs of Fuji-san reflected in the lake water were taken there. The image of the sacred Mount Fuji has inspired and inspires poets and artists to create works of art that can be seen today in museums and galleries in Tokyo, and read in numerous translations into other languages \u200b\u200bof the world.