Widely considered to be one of the prettiest spots in Tokyo, the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden has long been a favorite spot for weary Tokyoites looking to escape the city's concrete jungle. However, if it's crowds you're hoping to escape, you might want to look elsewhere.
A pleasant and almost entirely-overlooked neighborhood in the north of the city, Komagome is defined by narrow alleys lined with shops and restaurants, and is home to one of Tokyo's best gardens: the Rikugi-en, originally built at the end of the seventeenth century.
Japan's first zoo was established in Ueno Park, in 1882. Although its age is starting to show, the zoo is still a popular retreat in Tokyo. It's inexpensive, surprisingly large and, of course, there are those irresistible Giant Pandas.
After visiting the Sengaku-ji Temple in Shinagawa, we took a short detour to check out the Happo-en Garden. Since its name can roughly be translated as "beautiful from eight views," we suspected that it wouldn't disappointing.
Today, it's hidden in the shadow of the Tokyo Tower, but the temple of Zojo-ji was once among the grandest in Japan. This was the Tokugawa clan's favored place of worship, and the resting place of many shoguns. We visited the temple on Buddha's birthday and, afterwards, took time to check out the nearby Shiba Detached Palace Garden.
There was a time when one could see the entirety of Tokyo, or Edo as it was then known, from atop Atago Hill. Today the view is obscured by a wall of skyscrapers, but climbing the steep hill is still worth the effort, thanks to the presence of the Atago Shrine and the adjacent NHK Broadcast Museum.
The rain was showing no sign of stopping. We stared sullenly at the clouds from our habitual perch in the SkyTree's sixth-floor Starbucks and tried to figure out what to do with the day. Suddenly, an inspiration: the Sumida Aquarium. A brilliant idea! So brilliant, in fact, it was shared by approximately 74% of Tokyo.
Tokyo has been at the center of Japanese politics since the early 1600s, when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu upset the balance of power by moving his court here, far away from the traditional capital of Kyoto. Ieyasu's original castle is now gone, replaced by the more modern Imperial Palace. We joined a brief tour to get a peek behind the gates.
It's hard to say exactly when Tokyo started to frighten me, but it was probably during our visit to Yoyogi Park. While watching Japanese rockabillies bounce-step to Joan Jett, I moved out of the way for a couple dressed in... let's call it "Victorian Gothic Steampunk, Pastels Version." And that's when it hit home: something's not quite right in this city.
For a short period at the beginning of April, the word "sakura" becomes a prominent noun in approximately 75% of the sentences spoken in Tokyo. Because when the city's cherry trees bloom, there's no talking about anything else. You're either chatting about the blossoms, planning your picnic in the park, sitting in a rowboat under the trees, or strolling along a path while the petals flutter to the ground like the sweetest, most fragrant snowfall imaginable.
