Higo Hosokawa Garden is a daimyo garden that you can enjoy for free!

Do you know the Higo Hosokawa Garden in Mejirodai? This was the site of the residence of the Hosokawa family, the feudal lords of Kumamoto from the end of the Edo period, and the garden, which still retains the vestiges of that time, is open to the public for free. Would you like to enjoy a relaxing time at a daimyo garden located in a quiet residential area in the heart of the city?

Stroll through a garden inspired by Arashiyama in Kyoto!

Get off at Edogawabashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line and walk for 15 minutes along the Kanda River to a place called Mejirodai. When you look up from the Kanda River, you will see a plateau that looks like a mountain, and this area is the Higo Hosokawa Garden. As the name suggests, this place has been the residence of the Hosokawa family, the feudal lord of Kumamoto with a wealth of 540,000 koku, since the end of the Edo period, and in 1891 it became the main residence of the Marquis Hosokawa family. Furthermore, in 1899, a beautiful Western-style building designed by Higashikuma Katayama, who later designed the state guesthouse Akasaka Imperial Villa, loomed in front of the garden.

The scenery of Higo Hosokawa Garden still retains the atmosphere of the pond stroll garden created in the Meiji period. This garden is inspired by Arashiyama in Kyoto. There are many places on the hill where you can take a break, and there are observation decks overlooking the pond from various directions. It was one of the hottest days on record, but when I was in the shade of the Mejirodai forest, a cool breeze blew in and made me forget about the heat.

The place overlooking the pond earlier is in the greenery on the right side of the photo. The slope of the plateau is likened to a mountain, and it is designed so that you can not only admire the pond, but also enjoy a walk in the mountains and forest without the pond. The design also makes good use of the spring water from the Mejiro Plateau, which still has a lot of greenery, to create a number of waterfalls on the hill, and the water flows into the pond.

Furthermore, the garden has been designed so that you can enjoy the changing seasons, and you can also enjoy flowers unique to Kumamoto. Not only plums and cherry blossoms bloom in spring, but Higo camellias bloom in February and Higo peonies bloom in April. Before summer, you can enjoy the Higo irises around June, and at the end of autumn, in November, you can enjoy the Higo sasanqua flowers. Best of all, admission to this beautiful garden is free throughout the year.

And there's another free spot. The observation deck on the second floor of the Shoseikaku building in the center of the photo is also free to use. So let's get started.

Take a break at Shoseikaku!

This is the entrance to Shonenkaku. It's so majestic that you might be hesitant to enter, but you can enter freely. The building was originally an academic school for the Hosokawa family, but it is said that it also served as the residence of the Marquis Hosokawa family. The Shoshikaku in the photo has been restored and earthquake-proofed, and has been used as a meeting place for Bunkyo Ward since January 2016.

When you enter, you will see a panel about Shoshikaku displayed in front of you, and Kumamon will welcome you. Take off your shoes, put on slippers, and head to the observatory "Sasanqua" on the second floor. There are four meeting rooms on the first floor: Western-style rooms ``Hanashobu'' and ``Peony'', and Japanese-style rooms ``Chrysanthemum'' and ``Morning Glory.'' There is also a Japanese-style rest room called ``Tsubaki'' on the first floor, where you can enjoy tea and sweets for a fee.

This is the view from the hallway leading to the stairs to the second floor. The white building on your right is the rest area "Tsubaki". If you go to the left of the photo, you will see an elevator and stairs going up to the second floor. There is an elevator, so even those with poor legs can safely go up to the observation deck on the second floor.

This is the observatory "Sasanqua" on the second floor. What is shown in the photo is half of the sasanqua flower. In the room on the outside left of the screen, chairs are lined up for resting, and a video introducing ``Higo Hosokawa Garden'' is playing on the LCD TV. When I visited, a group of people were sitting down and watching the video. This is available from 9am to 5pm. For the period from November to January, the deadline is 4:30 p.m. Now, let's take a look at the garden from here. The right edge of the screen is a hallway, with a large spacious window.

This is the view of Higo Hosokawa Garden from the observatory Sasanqua. You can look down on the entire garden, so you can admire it as the Marquis Hosokawa family once viewed it. By the way, the day I visited was extremely hot, so I was very grateful to be able to thoroughly enjoy the garden from the cool, air-conditioned observation deck for free.

How was it?

Higo Hosokawa Garden is a feudal lord garden with free admission, but it is comparable in size and beauty to the paid daimyo gardens in Tokyo. This is a recommended spot for a walk in the city!

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