Shinjuku Gyoen

Shinjuku Gyoen covers fifty-eight hectares and holds three distinct designs in one wall: a French formal garden with symmetrical plane tree avenues and rose beds, an English landscape garden of open lawn and specimen trees, and a Japanese strolling garden of ponds, bridges and a teahouse. It began as a daimyo residence, became an imperial garden in 1906 and opened to the public in 1949. What makes it more useful than Tokyo's other parks is the cherry planting: about a thousand trees of some sixty-five varieties, which means the flowering runs from late March into the last week of April rather than the single week of a monoculture planting. Alcohol is prohibited, which keeps it a quieter garden than Ueno during the season. The Taiwan Pavilion on the pond and a large greenhouse of tropical plants are on the grounds.

What you actually see

• Three gardens in one - French formal, English landscape and Japanese strolling.
• A long cherry season - sixty-five varieties flowering from late March into late April.
• No alcohol - which makes it far calmer than Ueno in blossom season.
• The greenhouse - a large tropical collection at the eastern end.

When to go

Late March to April for blossom; November for autumn colour. Two to three hours.

Honest expectations

There is an entry fee and it closes early, around four in the afternoon. It is closed on Mondays outside the peak seasons. Blossom weekends are extremely busy despite the alcohol ban. Gates are far apart - check which one your train reaches.

Nearby

Shinjuku station is north-west; Meiji Jingu is west.