Koishikawa Korakuen - One Of The Best Gardens In Tokyo
- Nov 27, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 26, 2025
A complete guide to Koishikawa Garden in Tokyo
Image source: Ollie Ronin
Table of Contents
Overview
The Koishikawa Korakuen is possibly the most beautiful garden in Tokyo, and one of the best gardens in Japan. It was established in 1629 during the Edo Period (1600-1868), and at 400 years old, it's one of the oldest gardens in Tokyo. It has been beautifully designed to represent mountains, lakes, and forests using small hills, ponds, and a variety of carefully placed trees, stones, and walking trails. These designs reproduce famous Japanese and Chinese landscapes, which include a scenic mountain known as Kisoji, Mt. Lushan in China, and Lake Biwa, which is next to Kyoto. Walking along these paths leads you to experience many different views and gorgeous scenery.
Koishikawa is especially popular during the autumn period and is one of the best places to see autumn leaves in Tokyo. The placement of maple trees throughout the garden offers an amazing way to experience Japan's famous autumn scenery with a traditional garden design. Although it gets busy on the autumn weekends, it still tends to be less busy than other popular landmarks, and you can find many peaceful moments thanks to the garden's large size and intricate pathways.
The garden is worth a visit in every season. With beautiful plum blossoms in late winter, a variety of flowers, including cherry blossoms in spring, and lush green scenery in summer. If you visit outside of the autumn leaf and cherry blossom period, you'll find the garden provides a nice escape from Tokyo's lively energy, it's never busy during these times, offering a peaceful retreat into nature.
The garden features a 400-year-old tea house that serves food during lunchtime and traditional matcha tea in the afternoons. It's a beautiful old building and well worth a visit if you have time.
Location & Access
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The Koishikawa Korakuen Garden is located in central Tokyo and easily accessible from Tokyo's most popular locations, including Asakusa, Akihabara, Roppongi, Ginza, Shinjuku, and Shibuya. Google Maps sometimes points people to the wrong entrance, there are two entrances, the east entrance and the west entrance. The west entrance is the main entrance, which we'll link below.
🕗 Opening Hours
9am - 5pm
📍 Location
Bunkyo, Tokyo (Google Maps)
💴 Entry Price
¥300
Interesting Facts & History
Image source: Ollie Ronin
Construction began in 1629, and slowly evolved over many decades.
Despite numerous fires, earthquakes, and WW2, it remains true to its original form thanks to meticulous care and maintenance.
The garden has a philosophical backstory related to Confucianism. The word Korakuen translates to "Garden for enjoying later", which originates from a 1000-year-old Chinese essay. The shogun Tokugawa Mitsukuni gave the garden this name to publicly display a moral message, meaning he could only enjoy the garden after serving the people.
It's a classic example of a kaiyu-shiki teien (strolling garden) that uses miniature landscapes (shukkei) to reproduce famous scenic spots from both Japan and China. This was done so visitors could enjoy these landmarks without having to travel.
The Chinese influence comes from refugee scholar Zhu Shunshui, who was employed by Tokugawa Mitsukuni to further refine and develop the garden.
The gardens cover an area of more than 70,000 square meters
Useful Links
Image source: Ollie Ronin
Gallery
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Nearby Attractions
Image Copyright: Ollie Ronin
Koishikawa Korakuen is located right next to Tokyo Dome, which is a large entertainment complex that features a baseball stadium, amusement park, and shopping mall. It's only a 6 minute train ride from another stunning Edo-period garden, the Rikugien Gardens. It's also within a 20-minute train ride from Senso-ji Temple, Tokyo Tower, and Akihabara.
