Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden: Review, Garden Map and More

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Shinjuku Gyoen – a garden in Tokyo

Tokyo has always given people the impression that it is a place with only shopping malls and a large number of buildings, and it seems that there is no natural scenery to go to. However, in fact, there is a very large park near Shinjuku Station, and it is also a very suitable place to enjoy cherry blossoms, blue sky, green forests, and maple leaves. That is Shinjuku Gyoen.

If you are traveling to Tokyo for the first time, maybe you can go to some popular places firsttokyo attractions. However, if you have been to Tokyo many times, Shinjuku Gyoen is the most suitable place for you to arrange a morning to rest and relax.

Features of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Shinjuku Gyoen is a park with a history of more than 60 years. It is characterized by a very large area, covering an area of 58.3 hectares, and it is almost 3.5 kilometers to walk around the entire park.

At the same time, Shinjuku Gyoen will show different forms in different seasons, such as cherry blossoms in spring, green forests in summer, maple leaves in autumn, snow in winter, etc. When you visit Shinjuku Gyoen in different seasons, you will experience it every time. Seeing a completely different view.

Moreover, it is not easy to find such a large area of parks in Tokyo. It also includes Japanese gardens, English gardens, French gardens, and greenhouses. There are also traditional Japanese teahouses, restaurants, and coffee shops, basically only in Shinjuku. It can only be experienced in the royal garden.

Another point is that since Shinjuku Gyoen is managed by the Japanese government, the ticket fees are very cheap. Sometimes you don’t have to go to some high-altitude observatories such as Tokyo Skytree and Shibuya Sky to enjoy the scenery of Tokyo. In fact, there are many places in Shinjuku Gyoen where you can take pictures as souvenirs. Especially in certain seasons and on days with good weather, Shinjuku Gyoen is actually more worth visiting than other Tokyo attractions.

Cherry blossoms at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

March-April is the best time to enjoy cherry blossoms in Tokyo every year, and the special feature of Shinjuku Gyoen is that a large number of different varieties of cherry trees are planted, and it is said that there are a total of 1,000 trees. So even if you come to Shinjuku Gyoen at different times, you still have the opportunity to enjoy the cherry blossoms. Unlike other places in Tokyo, you can only enjoy them in just two weeks.

There are many places in the entire Shinjuku Gyoen where you can enjoy cherry blossoms. For example, the entrance of the Senga Valley at the bottom of the map and the places near the greenhouse are all places where cherry trees are concentrated.

However, one thing to note is that there are a lot of people going to Shinjuku Gyoen during the cherry blossom season. It is recommended to start early, otherwise it will take a lot of time to enter.

Summer at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Contrary to the spring cherry blossom season, perhaps because of the relatively hot weather, not many people choose to walk into Shinjuku Gyoen in summer.

However, under the strong sunlight, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden shows a unique blue sky and green forest, and this kind of scenery is not common in other places in Tokyo. If some people choose not to go to Shinjuku Gyoen in summer because of the hot weather, they will probably miss a lot of opportunities to take landscape photos.

If you all want to experience the most beautiful summer of Shinjuku Gyoen, it is recommended to take pictures in July-August when the sun rises most violently. Although it will be a bit hot, you can avoid the sudden rainstorm and let you take photos that you will be satisfied with.

In summer, the arrangement of plants in Shinjuku Gyoen does not change much, but in Shinjuku Gyoen there are actually many pavilions, shade trees, and some places that can block the sun. So don't worry about being sunburned and choose not to visit Shinjuku Gyoen.

Autumn maple leaves in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

The interesting thing about Shinjuku Gyoen is that the scenery in every season seems to be too beautiful. Sometimes I doubt whether the scenery in front of me is real or just a photo.

Every year around November is the day when the red leaf season begins. Basically, starting from November 1st, the whole park is dyed red until mid-November, and then the whole red leaf season ends in December.

Of course, the density of maple leaves in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden cannot be compared with Mount Takao, but as a scenic spot in Tokyo, it can save a lot of traffic time, and you can go to the next scenic spot immediately after enjoying the maple leaves. Is it worth it?

In Shinjuku Gyoen in autumn, you can enjoy the scenery of red leaves almost everywhere. It is recommended to spend a morning walking slowly around Shinjuku Gyoen, and then go to other attractions after having lunch at a nearby restaurant.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden Tickets, Opening Hours

As I said at the beginning, since Shinjuku Gyoen is managed by the Japanese government, the adult ticket is only ¥500, which is basically cheaper than the tickets for many attractions.

The opening hours of Shinjuku Gyoen vary according to different seasons. Those who plan to visit are advised to confirm the opening hours of the day before departure. In addition, the current regular holidays are arranged on Mondays, so when planning your itinerary, you should avoid departing to Shinjuku Gyoen on Mondays.

period	Opening hours	Closing time	Greenhouse use time
10/1~3/14	9:00AM~4:00PM	4:30PM	9:30AM~3:30PM
3/15~6/30 8/21~9/30	9:00AM~5:30PM	6:00 PM	9:30AM~5:00PM
7/1~8/20	9:00AM~6:30PM	7:00PM	9:30AM~6:00PM

The main reason is that summer in Tokyo has the longest sunshine time, so if you want to arrange a little more time to visit Shinjuku Gyoen, it is a good choice to arrange to go in summer. Otherwise, it is recommended to start visiting at 09:00 in the morning.

Transportation to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

If you want to go to Shinjuku Gyoen, you can enter Shinjuku Gyoen from three entrances: Shinjuku Gate, Okido Gate, and Senteya Gate. However, for ordinary tourists, as long as you enter Shinjuku Gyoen from Shinjuku Gate, and then walk around clockwise with the residence, you can walk through the entire Shinjuku Gyoen.

As for the transportation method to the entrance of Shinjuku Gate, you can take the Tokyo Metro to the "Shinjuku Gyoen-mae" station, and then walk for 5 minutes to the Shinjuku Gate of Shinjuku Gyoen.

Recommended restaurants near Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

There are a total of 8 places to provide meals and rest in Shinjuku Gyoen. For example, you can enjoy traditional Japanese matcha in the tea room Rakuten, or you can enjoy different kinds of tea in the central resting place カフェ "SASAYAIORI+Shinjuku Gyoen". Matcha dessert. It is very suitable to come to Shinjuku Gyoen in the afternoon to enjoy the different garden views while eating dessert.

Recommended accommodation in Shinjuku Gyoen

You can choose accommodation near Shinjuku Gyoen National GardenTokyu Stay Shinjuku,APA Hotel – Shinjuku Gyoenmae, both of which are the closest hotels to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, and are also some reasonably priced business hotel options.

Of course, if you want to stay in some better accommodation options, such as being able to see Tokyo Skytree in the room, the hotels in the following accommodation list may be more suitable for you.

Summarize

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is almost every time you visit Tokyo, you will definitely arrange to visit the attractions. The reasons are actually very simple. The main reason is that the transportation is very convenient. Basically, after getting in touch with the natural environment in the morning, you can go to some shopping centers in the afternoon. It is completely unlike Enoshima, Mt. Takao and other suburban attractions in Tokyo, which take more than an hour to get there by rail.

If you haven't been to Shinjuku Gyoen, I recommend that you arrange a morning visit on your next visit to Tokyo, then have lunch at a nearby restaurant, and then go to other attractions in Tokyo.

Additionally, this site is atTokyo Travel InformationIt also prepares different types of itinerary plans, scenic spot lists, and accommodation discounts for you. If you are planning to travel to Tokyo, it is recommended that you bookmark this website first, so that you can continue to get the latest travel information before your official departure!

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