When one hears about this city, one thinks of the skyscrapers, the beautiful architecture, modern shops, every electrical gadget known to man and maybe the odd geisha and some bonsai plants..

Gardens and parks are not the first thing one thinks of in Tokyo.

But you would be wrong, as Tokyo has many beautiful parks and people use them usually for a stroll in the morning or afternoon during the day depending on the season and weather. Work hours in the city are a little crazy, everyone is rushing about and they need these spaces to get away for a while.

When we went to Tokyo we were blown away by the parks.

Huge enormous places that you would need days to explore properly.

Most of the parks were the former gardens of the Feudal lords and Shoguns especially around the Edo era and so they remained as public parks now.

It is impressive how they look after their parks and how much the locals love their city and that includes and covers the parks. 

All the trees are pruned carefully and the pine trees look like giant bonsai trees manicured and pretty.

And whoever likes Japanese maple trees, will be knocked out by them here as they are the size and age of Plane trees and the tiny leaves on the giant branches sway in the wind and are a wonderful sight to see.

If I lived in Tokyo I would organise a walking tour through the parks for tourists.

As we didn’t stay in Tokyo for very long, we didn’t manage to visit all the parks including the one considered the central park of Tokyo,  the one near Shinjuku which has three sections in one park; a French style, an English style and a Japanese style. We will definitely go there next time!

We did go to the park in Yoyogi which has huge Gingko trees and in autumn it would be amazing with its yellow leaves falling….

The one we loved best was the Hamarikiou on the banks of the Sumida River which has a wonderful teahouse  where you can enjoy a cup of tea or watch a tea ceremony accompanied by various sweets that are served with tea in Japan.

It’s also worth visiting the gardens surrounding the Imperial Palace with it’s magnificent trees, sprawling lawns and sculpture and views of the Palace which cannot be entered.

The parks of Tokyo are alive with displays all year round but especially in spring time with the cherry blossoms (Sakura) and in autumn with the leaves changing colour yellow and red and falling…

I hope the next time I find myself in Tokyo it will be during one of these seasons…