Akatsuka Botanical Garden

The western part of Tokyo is mainly residential and green, allowing the city dwellers to escape from the bustling megalopolis and reconnect with nature. In addition to Tokyo’s Great Buddha in Joren-ji, Narimasu district encompasses several green spaces located on the former Musashino wood estate assembled under the name of "Akatsuka".

Leisure activities in Akatsuka Park

The Park is divided in several areas and stretches along a highway, while displaying several interesting places:

• The historical part, named Akatsuka Joshi, is the most interesting for tourists and includes a pond around which a few fishermen gather, two local museums and a hill on the top of which the ruins of Akatsuka Castle are enlivened by a plum garden.
• Daimon area is mainly a field of fall-blooming Japanese anemone.
• The central part is dedicated to a sports facility (baseball field and track and field stadium), and spaces for picnic and outdoor barbecues.
• The most eastern parts have trails for running or walking under the shades of trees in summer.

Despite the proximity of car 🚙 traffic, the park is very pleasant and welcomes the neighborhood’s families on the weekend.

Historical heritage in the botanical garden

In the south of Akatsuka Joshi Park and hidden in the residential streets, Akatsuka Botanical Garden has opened to the public in 1981. Like a living library, it allows the study and the contemplation of 600 tree species, plants, and various flowers, concentrated on a single hectare superficies. It is a real pleasure to be surrounded by nature and smell the wooden or flowery perfumes.

The path winds through landscapes and seasons, with staged blooming from spring 🌸 to autumn 🍁, and even holly in winter. Several smaller spaces are thus arranged, and the most remarkable are:

• The large lawn overshadowed by zelkovas, the perfect place for an outdoor lunch on a beautiful weather day.
• The wonderful medicinal garden Man’yo, where the plants grown were already mentioned in the Manyoshu, the oldest Japanese poetry anthology, dating back to the 8th century.
• A pleasant Japanese traditional garden, with a stroll in a little bamboo grove.

After this escape in a past-time era, the come back to the urban reality is slowly made transitioning through smaller quiet residential areas, until Narimasu station and its typical shops crammed along the tracks.