Tokyo Gardens: Hours, Entry Fees and Which to Visit

The Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association runs nine historic gardens, and the six below are nearly all on the same rules. They open at 9:00 and close at 17:00 with last entry at 16:30, they’re closed from 29 December to 1 January, and entry is 150 or 300 yen (lower for ages 65 and over, free for children up to elementary school age and for junior high students who live or study in Tokyo). Hama-rikyu, Koishikawa Korakuen and Rikugien cost 300 yen, and Kiyosumi, Mukojima-Hyakkaen and Kyu-Furukawa cost 150 yen. Figures are from each garden’s own page on tokyo-park.or.jp, read in October 2026.

The gardens at a glance

Hours can be extended during events such as the autumn light-ups, so check the garden’s page for the date you plan to go. The Western-style house at Kyu-Furukawa has its own fee and opening days.

Which one first

If you’ve time for only one garden, pick Hama-rikyu. It sits beside the bay, and the pond and teahouse look up at the towers of Shiodome. You’ll enter by the Otemon Gate (7 minutes on foot from Tsukijishijo or Shiodome on the Oedo Line, or 12 minutes from Shimbashi) or the Nakanomon Gate (5 minutes from Shiodome on the Oedo Line or the Yurikamome). The Ginza area is close, and the median Ginza hotel night is US$339 in the index of 20 October 2026.

Koishikawa Korakuen is the best classical garden for a half day in the centre of the city. The east gate is 6 minutes from Korakuen Station (Marunouchi and Namboku Lines, Exit 2) and 5 minutes from Suidobashi on the JR Sobu Line, and the west gate is 3 minutes from Iidabashi on the Oedo Line (Exit C3).

Rikugien is the one to visit in late November, when it lights the maples. Kyu-Furukawa is in the same corner of north Tokyo, so the two pair well. The autumn leaves guide and Tokyo in autumn cover dates.

Cheap and quiet

Kiyosumi, Mukojima-Hyakkaen and Kyu-Furukawa are the 150 yen gardens. Kiyosumi pairs with the cafes of Kiyosumi-shirakawa, and Mukojima-Hyakkaen is in the Skytree and Asakusa direction. It takes about 8 minutes on foot from Higashi-Mukojima on the Tobu Skytree Line, and the median Asakusa hotel night is US$262. The garden is also shut from 29 December to 3 January, two days longer than the others.

Gardens that aren’t run by the park association

Shinjuku Gyoen is a national garden and runs on its own calendar. It’s closed on Mondays (the next weekday when Monday is a holiday), so you won’t want it for a Monday. Happo-en and Kyu-Yasuda Garden keep their own hours, so check their place pages. For free green space with no gate, Yoyogi Park is open all day.

Planning

• Browse every garden on the map, and see what’s on the dates you travel in the events calendar. Blossom timing is in the cherry blossom guide.
• It’s worth checking the month in the weather guide before you pick a day.
• Hotel prices vary by area. The weekly price index put the median Shinjuku night at US$213, and the where to stay guide compares areas.

Places in this guide

Photos show the actual places, licensed under Creative Commons and credited to their photographers.

Koishikawa Korakuen Bunkyo · near Iidabashi Station Photo: Guilhem Vellut Rikugien Gardens Komagome · near Komagome Station Photo: Guilhem Vellut Mukojima-Hyakkaen Garden Mukojima · near Higashi-Mukojima Station Photo: Kimon Berlin Kyu-Furukawa Gardens Komagome · near Kami-Nakazato Station Photo: Guilhem Vellut Happo-en Shirokanedai · near Shirokanedai Station Photo: sayo ts