Stroll through Fukagawa's famous Kiyosumi Garden and enjoy Fukagawa gourmet food

The Kiyosumi Garden in Fukagawa began with the Fukagawa Shinshinen Garden, which was built by Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of the Mitsubishi Group, to entertain his employees and welcome guests. Let's take a stroll through this famous garden from the Meiji era, which still retains the atmosphere of those days.

“Wandering style forest garden” built by Yataro Iwasaki

Kiyosumi Garden is a designated scenic spot by Tokyo.
It is said that this place was once the site of the mansion of Kinokuniya Bunzaemon, a wealthy merchant from the Edo period. Later, it became the residence of the Sekijuku clan. Then, in 1878, Yataro Iwasaki bought 30,000 tsubo of land around this area and opened the Fukagawa Shinshinen Garden. In 1924, the Iwasaki family donated the Fukagawa Shinshinen Garden to the city of Tokyo, and the current Kiyosumi Garden was born.

By the way, Kiyosumi Park, which is adjacent to Kiyosumi Garden, is also the site of the former Fukagawa Shinshinen Garden. Kiyosumi Garden has a fee, but Kiyosumi Park is open to the public for free.

Currently, Kiyosumi Garden is one of the popular spots for foreign tourists. On the day we strolled around, tourists from various countries were enjoying the garden.

The ``Kiyosumi Garden'' is a ``walking-style forest garden'' centered around the large pond ``Oizensui''. Currently, rainwater is used as water for ``Oizumisui,'' but in the past, water from the Sumida River was drawn in. As a result, the water level in the pond rises and falls with low and high tides, causing changes in the view.

There are three islands in the pond, ``Nakanoshima'', ``Wajima'', and ``Matsushima'', and a sukiya-style ``Ryotei'' is built on the water's edge, which juts out into the pond. ``Ryotei'' was once built by the Iwasaki family as a reception space. It was renovated in 1985 and can now be used as a meeting place. There is a charge. "Ryotei" was selected as a "Historical Building Selected by Tokyo" in 2005.

If you take a walk while enjoying the view around the ``Oizensui'', you will see large stones lined up like a path along the edge of the pond. This is called ``isowatari.'' It was created so that you can enjoy the scenery while feeling like you are walking on a pond.

There are many garden stones of various sizes in the garden. In addition to Ikoma stone, famous stones from all over the country are collected, such as Bicchu granite, Sanuki granite, Iyo aoseki, and Kishu aoseki. These famous stones are used in the commonly found paving stones, rock crossing stones, and stone bridges. By the way, the stones that decorate the park were once collected by the Iwasaki family from all over the country.

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After strolling through the famous gardens, enjoy Fukagawa gourmet food!

After strolling through Kiyosumi Garden, how about having lunch at Fukagawa Meshi, which has been eaten in Fukagawa since the Edo period? Just across Kiyosumi Street, there is a restaurant specializing in Fukagawa gourmet Fukagawa Meshi. There are many shops here. The landmark is a large lantern with the words "Fukagawa Edo Museum" written on it. There are many popular restaurants in this area that have long lines at lunchtime.

During the Edo period, Fukagawa was a fishing town, and clams were a specialty of Fukagawa, where clams were caught in abundance. When there were too many clams to be caught, a processed food that could be eaten for a long time is still Fukagawa's specialty, ``Clam Tsukudani.''

Directly across from the Fukagawa Edo Museum is Fukagawa-shuku, a restaurant specializing in Fukagawa Meshi.
This is one of the popular stores. This restaurant serves two types of Fukagawa Meshi. One is ``Fukagawa Meshi,'' which was eaten in the days when Fukagawa was a fishing town, and consisted of hot rice topped with chopped green onions and raw clams simmered in miso.
The other is ``Fukagawa Meshi,'' a rice dish with clams that was made for lunch boxes around the time when the area around Fukagawa was reclaimed and changed from a fishing town to a town of carpenters. .

There is a menu with photos on the signboard at the entrance of Fukagawa-juku. Fortunately, there is also a menu where you can have both of the two types of "Fukagawa Meshi" in half size. The restaurant's recommendation is the authentic Fukagawa Meshi eaten by fishermen. By the way, ``Fukagawa Meshi'', a piping hot bukkake rice dish, has been selected as one of the top 100 local dishes by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

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How was it?

Kiyosumi Garden, known as a famous garden of the Meiji period, is easily accessible, just a 4-minute walk from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station. There is also a specialty store for Fukagawa's specialty, ``Fukagawa Meshi,'' just 3 minutes from the station. After strolling through the garden and enjoying Fukagawa gourmet food, we also recommend visiting the Fukagawa Edo Museum.