Time in Asakusa

Travel Reports by Chashitsu

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April 27, 2016 - Time in Asakusa

Having never hitherto stayed in Tokyo, I decided to include it my itinerary, mainly as a transport hub for journeying north and managed to find a small Japanese inn, Sadachiyo in the old part of Tokyo - Asakusa. Asakusa is a couple of subway stops from Tokyo�fs Ueno station and close to the popular Senso-ji temple. It is an area of old streets near the Sumida river and convenient for access to some of the gardens in northern Tokyo. I arrived in Tokyo from Okayama in the early afternoon and went straight to Senso-ji temple, the oldest shrine in Tokyo. The approach through the Nakamise shopping street lined with shops selling souvenirs, religious paraphernalia and the inevitable food stalls leads to the impressive two storey main gate ? the thunder gate with it�fs giant lanterns leading on to the main hall and five storey pagoda. The latter of more recent post war reconstruction. Despite the busy nature of this temple it has a rather lovely stream garden and wisteria. I later ventured to Ueno park, one of the largest in Tokyo, to make a trial run for the early morning trip the following day up north. Apart from a few structures and the peony garden I was rather disappointed.

Nakamise approach, Senso-ji temple, Asakusa Tokyo

Thunder gate, Senso-ji temple, Asakusa Tokyo

Giant lanterns, Thunder gate, Senso-ji temple, Asakusa Tokyo

Main hall, Senso-ji temple, Asakusa Tokyo

Pagoda & Skytree, Senso-ji temple, Asakusa Tokyo

Octagonal hall, Senso-ji temple, Asakusa Tokyo

Stream garden, Senso-ji temple, Asakusa Tokyo

I had reserved a day for exploring the gardens of Rikugi-en, the Koishikawa gardens and the azalea festival at Nezu shrine and took the Yamanote �gsubway�h to Komagome and was surprised to find my bus pass handy again. Rikugi-en garden is an Edo period daimyo�fs stroll garden circumnavigating a lake with two large islands. It�fs name taken from the six principles of waka poetry and boasts 88 spots of poetic association and includes an island with 35m hill and several tea houses. Although the cherry trees were in leaf, there was plenty of colour from the azaleas and a full calendar of flowering shrubs and trees in a garden well known for it�fs autumn colour.

Paradise island, Rikugi-en garden, Tokyo

View from the hill, Rikugi-en garden, Tokyo

A couple of stations on the Namboku subway took me to Koraku-en station for the nearby Koishikawa Koraku-en garden, which is just behind the Tokyo Dome. The garden was originally built by the founder of the Mito branch of the Tokugawa clan in 1629 and later completed by his successor Mitsukumi. It is a stroll garden with lake, hills and an island in the paradise style with a distinct Chinese character including a �gfull moon�h bridge and an unusual arched wooden bridge. The garden consists of three lakes/ponds, a couple of streams, plum grove, iris beds and a paddy field where the local school children grow rice.

Iris and wisteria, Koishikawa Koraku-en garden, Tokyo

Wisteria frames, Koishikawa Koraku-en garden, Tokyo

Chinese bridge, Koishikawa Koraku-en garden, Tokyo

Arched bridge over ravine, Koishikawa Koraku-en garden, Tokyo

When walking back to the subway I noticed a sign to Kyu Furukawa garden and decided to explore. This is a Taisho period garden with an unusual combination of Japanese stroll garden and a Western rose garden in front of a Victorian style house of sandstone blocks with slate roof, now an art museum. The house and Western garden was designed by Josiah Condor and the Japanese garden by Ogawa Jihei. The rose garden is terraced and the beds lined with clipped box with an azalea garden on the lower terrace. The Japanese style garden is based on a shinji-ike shaped pond with islands fed by a 10m waterfall. Shinji-ike ponds are quite common and refer to the shape of the cursive script for the word mind or heart. The garden includes a plum grove and a wide variety of flowering shrubs and trees throughout the year. Another garden where the bus pass worked it�fs magic.

House and rose garden, Kyu Furukawa residence, Tokyo

Rose garden, Kyu Furukawa residence, Tokyo

Azalea garden, Kyu Furukawa residence, Tokyo

Japanese pond garden, Kyu Furukawa residence, Tokyo

A short subway journey took me to the Koishikawa Botanical garden of Tokyo University. This is an extensive arboretum with a landscape garden in front of another western style house. The garden includes many cultivars of azaleas, camellias, cherries, wisterias, maples and plums covering 16 hectares, originally laid out in Edo times. Like a number of Japanese arboretums this represents typical temperate broad leaved forest of the region.

Medical centre, Koishikawa Botanical garden

Azalea bank, Koishikawa Botanical garden

Star magnolia, Koishikawa Botanical garden

Retracing my steps to the subway and walking in the opposite direction I discovered, with some difficulty the Nezu shrine, which has an azalea festival for much of April. The shrine has a large bank (about hectare) covered in azaleas of many hues. The shrine has splendid Zuishimon and Karamon gates with the main building in Momoyama style with vivid carvings. It is a busy venue during the azalea festival. I wandered back via the subway and on foot to enjoy a coffee overlooking the Sumida river in Asakusa.