Asukayama Park – A Great Cherry Blossom Viewing Spot For Families

(Image by Guilhem Vellut via http://www.flickr.com/photos/o_0/13593201395/

Located in the Kita ward of northern Tokyo near Oji station, Asukayama Park is a public green space that offers a picturesque landscape featuring approximately 600 Japanese cherry trees, making it a popular destination among Japanese people. While foreign tourists tend to favour parks such as Ueno or Yoyogi, Asukayama offers a great alternative for experiencing the local festive atmosphere during the cherry blossom season in early spring.

Dating back to the early 18th century, Asukayama Park was established as a pleasure ground for the Edokko, the inhabitants of Edo, by Yoshimune Tokugawa, the eighth shogun of the Edo period. By 1720, the park had up to 1,270 cherry trees, and during the Meiji Era (1868 – 1912), it was designated as one of Japan’s first public parks in the new capital.

A Wonderful Hill in the Heart of Tokyo

Asukayama Park is situated on a hill called Mount Asuka, surrounded by the city, and bordered on the northeast by railways. The park has several entrances, but the most intriguing one is located near the central exit of Oki Station and the Toden Arakawa tramway.

A highlight of the park is the Asukayama Park Monorail, a small cable car that takes visitors free of charge to the highest part of the park, setting the tone for the rest of the visit. The cable car is an exceptional mode of transportation in a large city like Tokyo and provides an initial sense of awe with a dynamic view of the urban landscape during the ascent.

Sakura-Viewing in a Light-Hearted Ambience

Inside the park, walking paths unfold under the trees that transform into a corridor of white and pink petals during the sakura blooming season. Japanese people come to practice hanami, the cherry trees’ flowers viewing and picnic, sometimes in large groups, in a laid-back and joyful atmosphere. Everybody gathers here, from the salarymen who enjoy a slower pace than usual, elderly visitors, as well as families and youngsters who savour their holidays before the nearing new school year (school starts in early April in Japan).

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While the adults celebrate, the younger ones monopolize a playground in the heart of the park. They can climb on a huge cone-shaped structure and slide on toboggans, and more surprisingly, explore a big old steam locomotive, that was used between 1943 and 1972 and still in good shape. Next to it, a car of Toden Arakawa’s tramway that was used between 1949 and 1978. The two old machines are both displays and playgrounds for children.

A Park Dedicated to Eiichi Shibusawa’s Memory

Cherry blossoms viewing is one of the numerous interests of Asukayama Park, and a couple of steps from the playground, three museums will also please amateurs of local cultural heritage:

Kita-ku Asukayama Historical Museum, the biggest of the three, shelters artworks by local artists on a time ranging from prehistory to Edo period.
The Paper Museum, created in 1950 by Kiyufusa Narita, who worked for one of the biggest paper manufactures in Japan located in Oji district, initially founded in 1875 by Eiichi Shibusawa and destroyed in 1945. Kiyufusa Narita collected all that could be salvaged and created the basis of its collection that grew overtime to become one of the most comprehensive paper museums in the world. Visitors can participate in recycled paper making workshops.
Shibusawa Memorial Museum was built on the residence of Eiichi Shibusawa (1840-1931) and is dedicated to the life and achievements of this Japanese businessman and industrialist considered “the father of Japanese capitalism.”

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Two other significant constructions were built on Shibusawa’s former estate, and sheltered his memorial museum when it first opened:

Bankoro, a beautiful cottage of Japanese and Western style, built in 1917 by Shimizu Group to celebrate Eiichi Shibusawa’s 77th birthday. It was a reception pavilion for his numerous high-ranking guests.
Seien Bunko, with a Western style, reinforced concrete structure completed in 1925 and ornamented with beautiful stained-glass windows and colourful tiles. It was first a library, but quickly converted in a reception room for its owner’s guests.

An Authentic Green Lung in a Residential Neighbourhood

Asukayama Park is a well-liked destination for cherry blossom viewing, but it has more to offer than just that. Visitors can enjoy various forms of entertainment throughout the year. During summer, children and their parents can take advantage of a small aquatic playground space to cool off under a small waterfall and escape the oppressive heat. Due to its location slightly north of Tokyo, the park maintains an authenticity that may have been lost in other more touristy parks in the city.