Kyu-Yasuda Garden
Ryogoku, Tokyo
Kyu-Yasuda Garden is a compact stroll garden laid out in the Genroku era, around 1690, for a feudal lord's riverside residence. Yasuda Zenjiro, founder of the Yasuda financial group, owned it later and gave it to the city in 1922. Its heart-shaped pond was built to rise and fall with the tides of the Sumida River, and pumps now recreate the effect.
More photos of Kyu-Yasuda Garden
Insider tip
Entry is free and the gate is a minute from the sumo stadium, which makes it the calm counterpoint to a tournament day. The Japanese Sword Museum is on the same corner, so see the two together.
What the guides say about Kyu-Yasuda Garden
The Sumo Museum is inside the Kokugikan, and during tournaments you'll need a ticket for that day to get in. Next door, the Edo-Tokyo Museum reopened in March 2026 after a four-year renovation. Kyu-Yasuda Garden, a free stroll garden a minute from the hall, is the quiet counterpoint to a loud afternoon, and the Sumida Hokusai Museum is a ten-minute walk east. Many fans also gather by the hall entrance in the afternoon to watch the top wrestlers arrive. The Ryogoku neighbourhood guide covers the district in full.
East-side trips. The Edo-Tokyo Museum, the Sumida Hokusai Museum and Kyu-Yasuda Garden are all within fifteen minutes' walk of the station. Asakusa and Kuramae are a 20 to 30 minute walk up the Sumida River, and Akihabara is two stops west on the Sobu Line.
What's on near Kyu-Yasuda Garden
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Kyu-Yasuda Garden, from the weekly Tokyo events calendar.
September Grand Sumo Tournament (Aki Basho)
大相撲九月場所
Time Top-division bouts from about 15:45, yokozuna matches around 17:30 Station Ryogoku (JR Sobu Line, Toei Oedo Line), 2 min walk
The autumn honbasho brings 15 days of top-division sumo to the sport's home arena, with bouts building from mid-morning to the yokozuna matches around 5pm. Cheapest same-day arena seats sell at the box office each morning, and the final weekend decides the Emperor's Cup.
Gregg Tavares, CC BY 2.0 January Grand Sumo Tournament (Hatsu Basho)
大相撲一月場所
Time Top-division bouts from about 15:45, yokozuna matches around 17:30 Station Ryogoku (JR Sobu Line, Toei Oedo Line), 2 min walk
The first of the year's six grand sumo tournaments, 15 days of top-division bouts at the national sumo arena in Ryogoku. Top wrestlers fight from mid-afternoon; general ticket sales open in early December and weekends go fast.
Gregg Tavares, CC BY 2.0 May Grand Sumo Tournament (Natsu Basho)
大相撲五月場所
Time Top-division bouts from about 15:45, yokozuna matches around 17:30 Station Ryogoku (JR Sobu Line, Toei Oedo Line), 2 min walk
Fifteen days of top-division sumo at the national arena, one of three Tokyo tournaments each year. Upper-level seats cost a few thousand yen and a limited number of same-day tickets go on sale each morning, but weekend and final days sell out well in advance.
Gregg Tavares, CC BY 2.0 NHK Taiga Drama Special Exhibition: Toyotomi Brothers
江戸東京博物館リニューアル記念 NHK大河ドラマ特別展「豊臣兄弟！」
Station Ryogoku (JR Chuo-Sobu Line), 3 min walk
A special exhibition tied to the NHK historical drama series, focusing on Toyotomi Hidenaga, the younger brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The show is held at the renovated Edo-Tokyo Museum and runs through the first week of November.
Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 2.0 Maruyama Okyo: Beyond Realism, Spatial Revolution
円山応挙 リアルの先へ 空間革命
Time 9:30 to 17:30 (Sat until 19:30) Station Ryogoku (Toei Oedo Line), 1 min walk
A retrospective of the Edo-period painter Maruyama Okyo, with more than 120 works from early perspective pictures to late screen paintings. It includes a re-creation of the room layout of Daijoji temple in Hyogo. This is the first special exhibition since the museum reopened. It opens on the last day of this window.
Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 2.0 Nearby
Around Ryogoku
Sumo town on the Sumida, with Hokusai and a tidal garden next door
Ryogoku is sumo's home. The national stadium is beside the station, the stables are in the side streets, and you'll see wrestlers in yukata on the platform. Around the Kokugikan sit the newly reopened Edo-Tokyo Museum, a Hokusai museum in the district where he was born, and a small garden built to follow the river tides. It's one of the easiest half-days in east Tokyo.
Ryogoku has 11 places on the Roam Tokyo map: 4 museums, 2 parks and gardens, 2 bathhouses, 1 landmark, 1 bar and 1 restaurant. Read the Ryogoku guide.
Good to know
- How do I get to Kyu-Yasuda Garden?
- The nearest station is Ryogoku (JR Sobu Line). Kyu-Yasuda Garden is in Ryogoku, Tokyo.
- How much does Kyu-Yasuda Garden cost?
- Nothing. Kyu-Yasuda Garden is free to visit.
- How long do you need at Kyu-Yasuda Garden?
- Plan for 30 min.
- When is the best time to visit Kyu-Yasuda Garden?
- Mornings.
Stay near Kyu-Yasuda Garden
Browse live availability and compare prices around Ryogoku.
Median US$179 a night across 35 listings within 0.6 km for a two-night stay a month out, sampled 29 September 2026. Cheapest quarter under US$143. See the weekly index for every neighbourhood.