Shinjuku Gyoen, known for beautiful cherry blossoms, used to be a mansion of the Naito family, a daimyo feudal lord of Takato, Nagano Prefecture, in the 18th century. Since the 19th century, when a samurai government came to a dead end, the right of ownership of the property had been transferred to the Imperial Family for their private use. During the Second World War, however, most facilities in the garden reduced to ashes because of the fierce air-raid. Thereafter it has been owned by the state. So, it was used for a venue of “The Rites of an Imperial Funeral” for the Emperor Hirohito in 1989.
As the number of foreign tourists to the park exceeded that of Japanese recently, the authorities began to tackle the improvement of the facilities in the park. This park features 1,300 trees of beautiful double cherry blossoms to be in full bloom in April. Unlike the common cherry trees in Tokyo, which usually bloom in late March, the double-flowered cherry trees here bloom almost a month later.
Licensed tour guide, travel consultant,
Masahisa Takaki.
全国通訳案内士 高木聖久
