Hama-rikyū Gardens

Hamarikyu Gardens
Hamarikyu Gardens
Hamarikyu Gardens (浜離宮恩賜庭園, Hama-rikyū Onshi Teien)
	Hamarikyu Gardens seen from Shiodome
Type	Urban park
Location	Chūō, Tokyo, Japan
Coordinates	35°39′36″N 139°45′43″E / 35.660°N 139.762°E
Area	250,215.72 square metres (61.82965 acres)
Created	April 1, 1946

Hamarikyu Gardens (浜離宮恩賜庭園, Hama-rikyū Onshi Teien) is a public park in Chūō ward, Tokyo, Japan. Located at the mouth of the Sumida River, it was opened to the public on April 1, 1946. A landscaped garden of 250,216 m² includes Shio-iri Pond, and the park is surrounded by a seawater moat filled by Tokyo Bay. It was remodeled as a public park on the site of a villa belonging to the ruling Tokugawa family in the 17th century.

At the centre of Shio-iri Pond is a teahouse, reached by three bridges, where visitors can enjoy refreshments, such as matcha and Japanese sweets, in the tea-ceremony style.^[1] The park includes a peony garden, a plum tree grove and fields with flowers for every season. Japanese falconry and aikido are demonstrated at New Year.

History

Tokugawa Tsunashige, the shogun's younger brother, received permission to reclaim land from Edo Bay (Tokyo Bay), on which he built a villa and garden in 1654. The property was inherited by his son, Ienobu, who later became shogun.