Hidden Wonders | A Quiet Edo Garden Next Door to Tokyo Dome

Koishikawa Korakuen is a garden built during the Edo period by the Mito Tokugawa family, said to have been completed during the era of Tokugawa Mitsukuni, the lord known popularly as Mito Komon. The garden is entered through a west gate, and its grounds sit adjacent to Tokyo Dome, whose roof is visible above the tree line.

The garden features moss-covered stones and a mountain stream, along with a pond said to have been designed in imitation of Lake Biwa. Lotus flowers bloom seasonally on the garden’s pond.

The lotus pond—Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. (©Sankei)

The park is also known as a habitat for kingfishers, and is visited regularly by birdwatchers hoping to photograph the birds. Kingfisher chicks have recently hatched at the site, with adult birds observed returning periodically to feed them.

Poetry, Hot Springs, and Daifuku

Spa LaQua, a natural hot spring facility located at Tokyo Dome, is currently hosting a tanka poetry exhibition in collaboration with Kotoamu, an app for posting and reading poetry.

A kingfisher photographed by one of the bird enthusiasts—Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. (©Sankei)

Tanka, a traditional Japanese poetic form of 31 syllables arranged in five lines, traditionally used to express personal emotion, are printed on translucent fabric and displayed hanging from the ceiling, with content centered on feelings toward loved ones. The facility’s open-air bath is known for its amber-colored water.

Nearby, along the Kanda River beneath the Shuto Expressway toward JR Iidabashi Station, is Okashi-tsukasa Suigetsuin, a confectionery shop known for its daifuku, a Japanese sweet made of soft rice cake wrapped around a filling, most commonly sweetened red bean paste. The shop’s proprietor, Michiko Ohinata, said she developed the shop’s signature daifuku with particular care.

Hidden Wonders | Tonogayato Gardens: Hillside Beauty in the Heart of Kokubunji

Author: The Sankei Shimbun