• Digital Nomad Resources
  • Southeast Asia Railways
  • Urban Rail Transit

Nomadic Notes

Travel blog and weekly travel newsletter

  • Blog
  • Travel Newsletter

Green spaces of Tokyo

October 16, 2017 By James Clark 1 Comment

As the biggest city in the world (by most definitions), Tokyo is not exactly famous for its greenery. Concrete jungle, sure. Actual jungle, not so much.

Tokyo
[Tokyo – it’s a jungle out there.]

I was a guest of the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, and I spent a day visiting gardens and green spaces of Tokyo.

Todoroki Valley

It’s hard to believe that Todoroki Valley is within the Tokyo city limits. It’s only 20 minutes by train from Shibuya, and 20 minutes on a train doesn’t get you outside of Tokyo. Still, I had to ask if we were still in Tokyo as it seemed unbelievable that this slice of greenery had escaped development.

From Todoroki train station, the valley is a few minutes walk away. Upon entry the temperate is noticeably cooler, and they even have a temperature display showing inside and outside the valley. At the start of the walk is the picturesque Golf Bashi bridge.

Golf Bashi Bridge
[Golf Bashi Bridge.]

The valley has a stream running through it that looks more like a mountain stream than a city waterway. I was amazed by how clean it was given it urban location. The valley is about 1.2 KM so a 2.4 KM walk in total.

Todoroki Valley
[Todoroki Valley.]

Near the end of the walkway is the Todoroki Fudoson Temple. It’s above the valley in the forest, and it makes for an interesting place to break up the walk.

Todoroki Fudoson Temple
[Todoroki Fudoson Temple.]

Meiji Jingu

Another remarkable park of Tokyo is at the Meiji Shrine. I say remarkable because I don’t ever recall visiting a central city park that has such a dense forest.

The Meiji Shrine is located in Shibuya, which is on the Yamanote circle line in central Tokto. This Shinto shrine is dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine is in the middle of this forest which contains over 120,000 trees.

Grand Shrine gate
[Grand Shrine gate.]

On the way to the shrine the is an impressive array of barrels of sake wrapped in straw. Each barrel is a gift that has been ornately decorated. I’m guessing this is highly tagged on Instagram.

Barrels of sake wrapped in straw
[Barrels of sake wrapped in straw.]

Th park is big enough just to wander around for a bit of a green break in the city, but you should of course visit the shrine if you haven’t been.

Meiji Jingu
[Meiji Jingu.]

Yoyogi Park

Next to Meiji Jingu is Yoyogi Park. On the map they look like one big park, though they are two separate entities. Yoyogi Park was famous for hosting U.S. military barracks after World war II, and then an athletes village for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Yoyogi Park
[Yoyogi Park.]

These days Yoyogi is best known for being a congregation spot for entertainers and various subcultures. If you can time your trip it’s best to visit on the weekend when cosplayers descend on nearby Harajuku Station. It’s the ultimate Tokyo people watching spot.

And if you really want to time your trip, come here in April when the cherry blossom trees have bloomed during sakura.

Yoyogi Park walkway
[Yoyogi Park walkway.]

[This trip was sponsored by Tokyo Metropolitan Government.]

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: japan, park, tokyo

Comments

  1. Ronnie Walter says

    October 18, 2017 at 7:29 am

    Lovely! Never knew that Tokya has such a real lush green beauty. Glad you shared.Cheers!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Weekly Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the weekly travel newsletter for the latest posts, and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.
Subscribe For Free Here [No spam, unsubscribe anytime.]

About Nomadic Notes

James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

More about me and Nomadic Notes.

Follow Nomadic Notes

Recent Posts

  • Malaysia railways – a guide to train travel in Malaysia
  • Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh by bus
  • Tokyo subway maps – A guide to finding high-resolution maps of every railway in Tokyo
  • Vietnam Railways – A guide to every line, tickets, and FAQs
  • Manila Mass Transit System – LRT, MRT and PNR Commuter Rail of Metro Manila
  • Dubai Metro
  • Best beaches near Bangkok
  • Travel Twitter and the future of social media
  • Notes on Mukdahan – Isaan life on the Mekong
  • Notes on Khon Kaen – The Isan city with big ambitions

European Rail Travel

Eurail Pass Travel Guide

Europe Rail News – The new newsletter for train travel in Europe

Southeast Asia Rail Travel

Southeast Asia current and proposed railways

A complete guide to train travel in Southeast Asia

Featured Posts

Top 200 Travel Books
How to find cheap flights
Best new banks for travellers, expats, and nomads

About Nomadic Notes

About
Advertise
Contact
Contribute
Press/Media Mentions
Where I've Been

Search Nomadic Notes

Travel Notes

Travel Notes

Travel Resources

Long-term Travel
Travel Blog Directory
Travel Gear
Travel Insurance
Travel Sites

Where To Stay In…

Bangkok
Chiang Mai
Da Nang
Ho Chi Minh City
Hong Kong
Jakarta
Kuala Lumpur
Macau
Penang
Singapore

Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the weekly travel newsletter for the latest posts and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.

Copyright © 2023 Nomadic Notes · Site Map | Privacy · Log in