What other travelers are saying about Hama Rikyu Gardens
Beautiful gardens, one of my favourite places in Tokyo for sure! Very well kept and just gorgeous. It was a lovely day today and the gardens were very peaceful.
Highly recommended. I payed 300 yen but the combo ticket saves you 50 yen if you wish to visit the Kyu Shiba Rikyu gardens as well (also worth a visit).
Just lovely!
What a splendid place to spend the afternoon! Strolling the grounds, exploring every nook and cranny. I spent a few hours here one spring afternoon after eating a great omakase lunch. This was the perfect place to burn off some extra calories, wandering the paths. It was an equally enjoyable place to enjoy a nice little siesta underneath one of the many trees that provide shade in this beautiful park. If you’re into green spaces, I highly recommend a visit! Can’t wait to come back 🤗
Beautiful traditional gardens that used to be the falcon hunting grounds of the Shogun. Compared to Shinjuku Gardens, Hamariku has more beautiful water features, including bridges and a tea shop over water. There's something to see in every season - plum blossoms in February, cherry blossoms in March, wisteria in April, as well as a season flower garden planted with rotating varieties year round. The garden also hosts seasonal and cultural celebrations. The garden tends to be quiet most days (certainly compared to Shinjuku Gardens). The open picnic areas are recommended for families with kids looking for a place to run around in the grass.
A spacious garden by the sea, with nice ocean breezes. Ideal for relaxed picnics under twisted pines, framed by surreal skyscrapers on all sides. Brilliant in autumn—just be sure to time your visit well. Take food to eat there.
Hamarikyū Gardens is one of Tokyo’s most historically layered landscapes, a former 17th-century coastal residence of the Tokugawa shōguns where an Edo-period garden, a rare saltwater tidal pond and the modern skyline of Shiodome coexist in a single, coherent space. Created as a seaside villa and hunting ground, the estate was designed around the shioiri-no-ike, the only remaining tidal pond in Tokyo that still rises and falls with the rhythms of Tokyo Bay. The surrounding fields once hosted falconry demonstrations for the shōgun’s court, while the garden itself was shaped by black pines that remain among the oldest in the city, including the 300-year-old Sanbyakunen-no-Matsu. During the Meiji era the property became part of the Imperial estate; heavily damaged in 1945, it was reopened to the public the following year. Today Hamarikyū still reflects classical aesthetics such as borrowed scenery, intentionally framing the glass towers of Shiodome as part of the garden’s composition.
Visiting the garden feels like stepping briefly outside the pace of the city. Walking across the tidal pond’s long wooden bridge toward Nakajima-no-Ochaya, the teahouse on the water, you notice how the garden filters sound and light: the soft creak of wood, the wind in the pines, the reflections shifting on the surface. From the small hill Ochin’yama, the garden opens in layers — the Edo-period composition of water and pines, the quiet interior of the park itself, and behind it the vertical lines of Shiodome. The contrast is deliberate and gives the garden a clarity that is rare in central Tokyo.
I arrived at Hamarikyū by river boat from Asakusa, which is an excellent option: the ticket is 1,180 yen and includes the garden entrance fee (300 yen), so the actual cost of the cruise is only 880 yen.
Key attractions include the 300-year-old Pine of the Matchmaker, the tidal ponds, a traditional teahouse where visitors can enjoy matcha and sweets, and the flower fields that change with the seasons, offering a diverse botanical experience.
Yes, visitors can experience traditional Japanese tea ceremonies at the teahouse located on an island within the garden's tidal pond. This offers a unique cultural experience, allowing guests to immerse themselves in the tranquility and ritual of Japanese tea culture.
The gardens are home to a wide variety of plant species, including pine trees, cherry blossoms, and seasonal flowers like peonies and irises. The tidal ponds also attract diverse birdlife, especially during the duck hunting season, though hunting is no longer practiced.
Hama Rikyu Gardens, once a feudal lord's residence and a duck hunting ground for the Tokugawa shogunate, reflects the opulence and cultural aesthetics of the Edo Period. It showcases traditional Japanese garden design, including tidal ponds, which uniquely connect with Tokyo Bay, illustrating the blend of natural beauty with practical engineering of the era.
