Strolling through Rikugien Garden 👹🍣🎎 Wonderful Japan

Today we are back in my favorite city, which I have unfortunately not been able to visit so often in recent years. There is just too much to do in everyday life, so I simply don't have enough time for my great love, Tokyo.

But once I'm in the city, I just want to discover as much as possible. I don't stick to the typical sights that everyone visits — I like to just go with the flow. That's how I end up in all kinds of different corners of the city, where there's always something exciting to discover. And every time I feel so at home that I don't want to go back home at the end, but would rather stay here forever.

But in the end, it's always time to say goodbye, although luckily I bring back a whole bunch of pictures with me every visit. And these pictures help me keep the memories of my favorite city fresh and at the same time stimulate my anticipation for my next trip.

I don't know yet when I'll be coming back to Tokyo next, but it will probably be a while. However, I've already picked out a few new destinations, and I'm very excited to see where they will take me.

And to bridge the gap until my next visit, today I'm taking you on a little tour of a park I encountered last time. Japanese parks exude a very special charm that can be felt in every season, and I surely love to immerse myself in it.

On a rather sunny spring day, our trip took us to Rikugien Garden (六義園), located in the Bunkyō district in northern Tokyo. The idea for our destination didn't come from me this time, so I was quite excited to see what we would get to see there.

Rikugien Garden is considered one of the most beautiful preserved daimyō gardens from the Edo period and covers around 88,000 m² with a large central pond, artificial hills, winding paths, and several traditional tea houses.

The garden was laid out between 1695 and 1702 on behalf of the fifth Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. Rikugien was designed as a “strolling garden” – a landscape garden that is experienced while walking around it. The design is based on the world of waka poetry, which is why the name “Rikugien” refers to the six principles of Chinese poetry, which later also influenced Japanese poetry.

Over time, the park changed hands several times until 1938, when the city of Tokyo took it over, restored it, and opened it to the public. Since 1953, Rikugien has been officially protected as a “place of exceptional beauty” and an important cultural asset of Japan.

But let's take a look inside the park ourselves, which really made a wonderfully well-kept impression. Our visit was at the end of March, and winter had just ended. The nature in Japan was still recovering from the cold season, which was also evident here in this park.

It was both relaxing and stimulating to take a stroll here in Rikugien. There were several large and small paths leading through the grounds, with a small lake right in the middle.

Lakes and waterways have a very special effect, especially in parks, which is probably most noticeable in Japanese and Chinese gardens. Somehow, they reflect the center of the universe around which the rest of the world seems to revolve.

On that day, we weren't alone, as Rikugien is quite a popular place. But the many visitors were spread out across the extensive grounds, so we were able to relax quite well on our own walk. And when you stand on the small Fujishiro-toge viewing hill, you can enjoy a wonderful panorama of the entire garden, which is said to be one of the most popular photo spots.

I love wandering along the various little paths and seeing where they take me. Suddenly, you feel far away from all the stress and hustle and bustle of the big city that had been with you just a moment before.

Images like this easily manage to transport us to a completely different world. And that was precisely the intention of the designers of this wonderful garden, which fortunately is now open to all visitors. Like everyone else, I was delighted that we had found our way here.

Rikugien is known for its stunning autumn leaf illuminations, which will immerse the garden in warm light in the evening. Unfortunately, for this we were in the right place at the wrong time, but it gives us a great destination for a future visit to the Japanese capital. I would love to return to Tokio some day in the fall.

As I wrote at the beginning, I don't get to my favorite city often enough these days. But my many pictures remind me again and again that I have been so lucky to discover so many great places in this magnificent city. Rikugien Park is definitely one of them, and I would be very happy if I could come back here sometime. Preferably with the same wonderful company I had that day.