On Sunday, I took advantage of the warm, sunny weather and found my way to Shinjuku Gyoenmae Park, a popular garden in Tokyo. I arrived a little past 3pm and the admission gate closes at 3:30, so I followed a bunch of other people who also hastily bought their 200 yen admission ticket and went through the gates.
I'm not confident in looking for new places in Tokyo because 1) I can't use the Internet on my phone to look for places and 2) the streets aren't laid out in a grid, but after getting off at Shinjuku Gyoenmae station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line, I easily spotted the park a block away from the station.
Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to explore the whole garden. I'm sure I missed a lot of the good, scenic spots of the garden, but I managed to walk around a small part of it. It was still a beautiful park even though winter's probably not the best season to visit.
Such a spacious park! Many people were sitting, strolling, chatting, taking pictures, and soaking up the winter sun. There was a lot of barren ground near the entrance, but I can imagine how crowded it must be during the Fall and Spring. I probably only walked .05% of the entire park...
I managed to slip into the greenhouse right before they stopped letting people enter. Sunlight poured through the large, high glass windows.
I loved the earthy smell of soil and fragrant flowers. It was such a calm stroll through the sunlit greenhouse.
The water in the pond on the first floor of the greenhouse was as still and clear as the glass it reflected.
Took this shot behind a man-made waterfall. Looks kind of like rain.
I was probably in there for maybe half an hour before they started playing the soothing closing music and politely telling us to get out.
The cherry blossoms and autumn foliage must be amazing here, but these barren trees were pretty cool with their gnarly branches.
What I love about strolling in parks like these is all the people taking pictures with their DSLRs. I was heading towards the exit since the park was closing, but on the way I noticed a bunch of people surrounding this one tree and pointing their cameras at the tiny, blooming cherry blossoms. Naturally, I flocked to the group of photographers hoping to get a good shot myself. It wasn't a great shot, but joining a bunch of solo photographers in pursuit of a good shot was quite amusing.
This park is definitely worth visiting. I know I'll be back again to see the rest of the garden, hopefully during cherry blossom season.
On Sunday, I took advantage of the warm, sunny weather and found my way to Shinjuku Gyoenmae Park, a popular garden in Tokyo. I arrived a little past 3pm and the admission gate closes at 3:30, so I followed a bunch of other people who also hastily bought their 200 yen admission ticket and went through the gates.
