Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden
A little-known oasis among high-rise buildings in the city center.
Is there any space that better fits the expression “a secluded pocket in the city center”?
A one-minute walk from Hamamatsu-cho Station through the business district. Millions of business people pass by the front of this oasis every day.
What a waste! If you are in Tokyo, you must visit this place. Chill out and forget the din of daily life.
In former times, this was right next to the ocean, salt water was drawn in to the pond, and it is said that the ebb of the tide could be enjoyed from within the garden. Now, surrounded by buildings, it is not possible to see the ocean from the garden, and the pond is cut off.
However, this is all okay.
If you look down from Hamamatsu-cho Station, you will see this oasis preserved amidst high-rise buildings. You want to love this unreal space, like a cute miniature garden.
In any case, located here, Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden is quiet. People are few, and it is a place where you can sit down on a bench and innocently think, “Oh, this is how to enjoy a garden.” Considering its size as well, it is recommended for new garden lovers.
So quiet, it is hard to believe that it is right next to Hamamatsu-cho Station. Only in seeing high-rise buildings popping up through the trees surrounding the garden does one remember that this is city center.
There is the sense that all the highlights have been condensed into a small space. There are not many tourist groups, and you can enjoy it all very leisurely.
referenceTCU, “Tokyo, The top five List is deeply soulful”, page 47, 2016年, Natsume-Shobo-Shinsha
One highlight of the garden that must not be skipped is the West Lake Embankment, which imitates China’s West Lake (Xi Hu). Both the lake and the bridge of the original in China are massive.
Here in this garden, however, everything is scaled to the size of the whole space using perspective.
Look at the above photograph.
Beyond the small stone bridge, the beautifully arranged lawn and lined trees draw one’s gaze, making one want to focus the line of sight afar, just as if viewing the horizon.
The real pleasure of Japanese gardens lies in the selection of various beautiful scenes, and imitating and shrinking them in space.
MAP
- PLACE
- Kyu-Shiba-rikyu Garden
- TEL
- +81-3-3434-4029
- ACCESS
- 1-4-1 Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo
- URL
- http://teien.tokyo-park.or.jp/en/kyu-shiba/index.html