Apr 26, 2017 - 1 min read

Kiyosumi Teien

Historical landscape garden in the center of Tokyo

By Elena Lisina

Community writer

A stone lantern is always the center of a Japanese garden

A stone lantern is often combined with stones

Japanese gardens have a lot of open spaces

Compositions of stones are always unique

Big carp or koi are traditional inhabitants of Japanese gardens

Walking in the garden, you can see many beautiful views

I enjoy all the fragments as they're made with special care

When sakura is over, it's also beautiful sight

All trees in Japanese garden are arranged to form a really beautiful view

In the spring, green leaves are the most beautiful

The hill on the other side of the pond by its shape reminds Fuji-san

There are many places where you can sit down and enjoy the views

One of the beautiful corners of the garden

I visited Kiyosumi Teien on a rainy day, but enjoyed it anyway!

A landscaped garden is one of the most beautiful arts of Japan in my mind. Whenever I visit Japan, the first thing I always do is go to one of the numerous gardens. There are few in the very center of Tokyo. One of the best is Kiyosumi Teien.

Kiyosmi Teien is a historical place. The typical Japanese landscape feature is of the feudal lord’s garden in the Edo period. In 1878, Mr. Yataro Iwasaki, a founder of Mitsubishi group, built a garden for comforting his employees and also for inviting important business guests. In 1932, Mitsubishi group contributed this garden to Tokyo City and it was opened to the public in 1932.

The park is featured with a pond, artificial hills and rocks. As the garden is surrounded by the skyscrapes of Shiodome, it makes the contrast between old and new.

Kiyosumi Taien is in 3 minutes walk from Kiyosumi-shirakawa Station of Toei Subway Oedo Line or Tokyo-metro Hanzoumon Line.