Walking through Rikugien

I couldn't help but start my posts about Rikugien Garden with that glorious weeping sakura tree. However, there are many beautiful trees in the garden.

Rikugien garden is about 320 years old, which has given the trees there a lot of time to grow. Of course some have been replaced, but some trees are likely to date from the time the garden was created.

Built from 1695 to 1702, Rikugien was designed as an Edo period daimiyo's strolling garden. There was originally a home there, and various buildings and tea houses have been added over the years.

The name Rikugien comes from the name for Chinese poetry, which is also how Japanese Waka poetry is constructed. 

Riku is six in Chinese, and the poetry is divided into six catagories. The name Rikugi-en means the garden of six elements. 

In total, there are 88 scenic spots throughout the garden, that reference these poems, places in Japan and historical moments.

Like many Japanese strolling gardens, there is a large pond. It is a salt water pond that water flows to from Tokyo Bay. There is a sluice gate that is used to keep the water in the pond at the same level as the tide changes.

In the pond there is an island, Naka-no-shima.

Another scenic view is the Horai-jima, the arched rocks.

Walking clockwise from the main gate I reached the Taikimi Chaya teahouse, which means waterfall viewing. It is a lovely place to sit and rest.

Back in 1878 the founder of Mitsubishi, Iwasaki Yataro, bought the garden. It had been neglected, so he began to have it restored. The current garden is one third of the size of the original. 

I reached Fukiage-chaya, the only tea house that was open and selling food. Other places in the garden were closed because of the virus. One of the treats was "Cherry blossoms monaca". Monaka are crispy mochi waffers with azuki bean jam or other filling.

Unlike most of the garden, there were a lot of people here. So I bought a bag of monaka and just spent a little time admiring the sakura trees, but not sitting and eating.

These beautiful sakura trees and the garden were donated to Tokyo City in 1938.

A less crowded space was the walk along Zenkei no Nagare, a river in the garden that flows into the pond.

Along the way is the Tsutsuji Chaya. The location is a place to view the flowering azalea that cover the hill. It was a little early in the year so they weren't blooming yet.

In some ways, the river reminded me of a moat. 

It is a long walk along the river, and there is still more to see. So I will have one more post about Rikugien. Because it was worth visiting during the daytime.

A Breath of Springtime at Rikugien Garden

March 26th, it was time for some serious sakura viewing. So off I went. On the way I passed by ろぜしろ道り, which translates to Rosé White Street. 

My destination however, was one of the best known for sakura gardens in Tokyo. 

Besides that, 六義園, Garden in Bunkyo is famous for being one of the most beautiful Edo style strolling gardens, with lush trees and sparkling water features.

In 2018 I had visited Rikugien at night because they light up the sakura trees. 

It was extremely crowded. Because of the virus, the garden was not holding the night time viewings. So I did not know how crowded it would be during the day. If it was bad, I planned on not staying. 

Thankfully the garden was very uncrowded. Even around the beautiful weeping sakura tree. And almost everyone was wearing a mask. It made my time in the garden relaxing and enjoyable.

And what a beautiful tree it is.

I looked forward to seeing the rest of the garden, since I had only been there before at night, and much was hidden in the dark. I hope to share a bit of this lovely place in my next post.

Night Time Ikebukuro in March

After my long stroll through the sakura, I made it back to my hotel room where I enjoyed a treat.

A green tea parfait. On top was mochi, adzuki bean koshi-an, green tea and sakura whip. Along with a salt preserved sakura flower.

Underneath was sakura and green tea mousse and green tea jelly. 

I wasn't done for the day though. I wanted to try to shop a little. So I headed out. One thing I was trying to do is get photos of some of the Chinese shops and restaurants in Ikebukuro. Since these places are what makes up the local Chinatown in Ikebukuro.

Once again I was circling around the busier areas. This time I went south of Ikebukuro Station over to the east side. Going by streets with many restaurants and bars open, there were still a number of people out. Something that doesn't get mentioned about Tokyo is that a lot of people live in places with tiny or no kitchens. Eating out isn't just for pleasure, but for many it's needed. It's also why people go to markets and combini almost every day. It's difficult to store a lot of food for many people in Tokyo.

It was March 25th and Sunshine Dori still had a lot of people there. Even more over on Sunshine 60 Dori. I had taken side streets to get to Uniqlo. I figured there would be less people in that store than the one in Tobu Ikebukuro Station. I was right. This Uniqlo attracts tourists and there were very few still in the area. I like to go to the Sunshine 60 store when I want to see what they have available. I was able to get a couple of tops, a jacket, casual pants and one other item. I find the clean lines and styles there fit more with what I like compared to what I find at US stores. And of course I also can find them in the colors that I like. So I couldn't leave Japan without stopping in for a few fashion items.

Heading back to my hotel I found...sakura.

While there were a few people out, the images of the shut down entertainment theaters like the Toshima Civic Center were sobering.

A lot of entertainment performers and the people that support them had been out of work for almost a month and with no idea when it will be okay to have live performances. I really hope that Japan will find a way to support them.

While not quite the image of Rikugien's lighted sakura, it was still nice to have a little night time sakura viewing.

I know a couple friends are into Bungou Stray Dogs so I had to take a photo of the poster for the live stage show. I was curious how well they could show the various super powers. Unfortunately, no way to see the show in person.

A night time view of the west side of Ikebukuro that many don't see.

Ikebukuro Chop was still open that night. I hope the live houses will be able to return. They are the backbone of Japan's music scene, where many bands start out, and many continue to be able to perform.

And back to my hotel for my conbini dinner. Cold soba noodles. Not bad. Every time I am reminded that I want to go find really traditional soba restaurants, the good places throughout Japan. One day, I hope I can.

As for that other item I found at Uniqlo, it was this. Not the usual Uniqlo fashion but I really was happy. This fashion was displayed as being worn over other clothing, which is exactly what I have been looking for.

It's actually a nice sheer dark blue negligee that came with a slip short nightgown. Definitely something I will wear.