I am going to Tokyo on business, and shall arive fairly early on
Saturday, half blotto. I should like to visit some gardens, but
wasn't very impressed by the Tokyo ones when I was last there
(with one exception). I should also be interested to ride the
bullet train.

So, does anyone have any suggestion of good gardens to visit that
can be visited in c. 6 hours from Tokyo, without too much hassle
(which I won't be able to handle in that state)?


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
wrote:

I am going to Tokyo on business, and shall arive fairly early on
Saturday, half blotto. I should like to visit some gardens, but
wasn't very impressed by the Tokyo ones when I was last there
(with one exception). I should also be interested to ride the
bullet train.

So, does anyone have any suggestion of good gardens to visit that
can be visited in c. 6 hours from Tokyo, without too much hassle
(which I won't be able to handle in that state)?


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

http://www.phototravels.net/kyoto/zen-gardens-index.html

I¹ve no idea if Kyoto is possible to visit.

There is always more so he is some.

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/pdf/pg-808.pdf

Hope it is useful.

Bill

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

Nick Maclaren, wrote:

I am going to Tokyo on business, and shall arive fairly early on
Saturday, half blotto. I should like to visit some gardens, but
wasn't very impressed by the Tokyo ones when I was last there
(with one exception). I should also be interested to ride the
bullet train.

So, does anyone have any suggestion of good gardens to visit that
can be visited in c. 6 hours from Tokyo, without too much hassle
(which I won't be able to handle in that state)?

There are a number of great Japanese gardens in and near Tokyo. Now the
mums are in full bloom and the maples are in full color.

Hama Rikyu Gardens
Imperial Palace East Gardens
Inokashira Park
Jindai Botanical Garden
Kasai Rinkai Park
Kitanomaru Park
Kinuta Park
Koishikawa Korakuen Garden
Mount Mitake
Rikugien
Shiba Park
Shinjuku Central Park
Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Ueno Park
Yoyogi Koen

Yoyogi Koen is a spacious Western style park with wide lawns, trees and
ponds, popular among foreign residents. Yoyogi Koen is known for its
autumn leaves, especially the golden leaves of the many ginko trees. It
is a 5 minute walk west of Harajuku Station. Admission is free.

Rikugien is one of the most beautiful, classic Japanese landscape
gardens of Tokyo. Dating from the Edo Period, it reproduces landscape
scenes from famous poems in miniature. Beautiful during all seasons. It
is a 2 minute walk from Komagome Station. Admission is 300 Yen

Hama Rikyu Garden is alongside Tokyo Bay. It is a nice Japanese
landscape garden with former duck hunting grounds. The contrast of the
garden with the nearby skyscrapers of Shiodome is spectacular. It is a
10 minute walk from Shinbashi Station. Admission is 300 Yen

Koishikawa Korakuen is a beautiful Japanese landscape garden,
representing famous Japanese and Chinese sceneries in miniature. It
dates from the early Edo Period and is enjoyable during all four seasons
of the year. It is a 5-10 minute walk from Iidabashi Station.
Admission is 300 Yen

Mount Mitake is part of the Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park in western
Tokyo. A shrine and lots of hiking opportunities await visitors to the
mountain, which can be reached in less than two hours from Shinjuku. It
is accessable from Mitake Station, JR Ome Line. Admission is Free
--
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N ick wrote

I am going to Tokyo on business, and shall arive fairly early on
Saturday, half blotto. I should like to visit some gardens, but
wasn't very impressed by the Tokyo ones when I was last there
(with one exception). I should also be interested to ride the
bullet train.

So, does anyone have any suggestion of good gardens to visit that
can be visited in c. 6 hours from Tokyo, without too much hassle
(which I won't be able to handle in that state)?


Now for something completely different.
Don't know if you are into these but I've always wanted to visit them ...
http://www.echigo.ne.jp/~koi/koie1710.htm
Some are near Tokyo and others only a few hours drive away, perhaps there
are trains.
:-)
--
Regards
Bob Hobden

Thank you for your suggestions! I should love to go to Kyoto, but
it doesn't seem feasible, so shall probably stay in the Tokyo area.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Bill" wrote in message
...
In article ,
wrote:

I am going to Tokyo on business, and shall arive fairly early on
Saturday, half blotto. I should like to visit some gardens, but
wasn't very impressed by the Tokyo ones when I was last there
(with one exception). I should also be interested to ride the
bullet train.

So, does anyone have any suggestion of good gardens to visit that
can be visited in c. 6 hours from Tokyo, without too much hassle
(which I won't be able to handle in that state)?


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

http://www.phototravels.net/kyoto/zen-gardens-index.html

I¹ve no idea if Kyoto is possible to visit.

There is always more so he is some.

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/pdf/pg-808.pdf

Hope it is useful.

Bill

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA



Kyoto is about 2hrs 20/2hrs 30 on a Nozomi - Hikari take longer (but are
cheaper) and Kodama even longer (over 3 hrs 30). Some of the gardens are
some way from the station (which is a sight in itself) but the bus service
is reasonably easy and not too slow. If you have time I might be tempted
to go a bit further to Okyama http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5701.html but
you'd need to spend the night away from Tokyo.

On 11¤ë5¤é, ¤È«e4:16, wrote:
I am going to Tokyo on business, and shall arive fairly early on
Saturday, half blotto. I should like to visit some gardens, but
wasn't very impressed by the Tokyo ones when I was last there
(with one exception). I should also be interested to ride the
bullet train.

So, does anyone have any suggestion of good gardens to visit that
can be visited in c. 6 hours from Tokyo, without too much hassle
(which I won't be able to handle in that state)?

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Which garden did you visit the last time?
(which place was your 'one exception'?)
After hear that, i might be able to give you some other suggestion for
you.

Ono di tokyo

In article ,
Ono wrote:

I am going to Tokyo on business, and shall arive fairly early on
Saturday, half blotto. I should like to visit some gardens, but
wasn't very impressed by the Tokyo ones when I was last there
(with one exception). I should also be interested to ride the
bullet train.

So, does anyone have any suggestion of good gardens to visit that
can be visited in c. 6 hours from Tokyo, without too much hassle
(which I won't be able to handle in that state)?

Which garden did you visit the last time?
(which place was your 'one exception'?)
After hear that, i might be able to give you some other suggestion for
you.

Regrettably, I can't remember! I was being taken round the sights
in a group, and it was a very tiring week.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

wrote:

Thank you for your suggestions! I should love to go to Kyoto, but
it doesn't seem feasible, so shall probably stay in the Tokyo area.

You could consider Hakone or the Izu peninsula as places just outside
Tokyo using the Shinkansen to get close and then local trains. It
would help to speak a little bit of Japanese outside Tokyo.

You might find this more than a bit stressful when jet lagged...
Shrines and some of their gardens within the Tokyo metropolitan area
might be a safer bet.

Pity you couldn't extend the trip and tack on a visit to Kyoto or
Nikko - they would be extremely pretty at around this time of year
(and very busy). Most of the best gardens are some way from Tokyo and
many are only at their best at certain times of year. You probably
want to visit places with acers and other highly coloured trees at
this time if year (the very best places will be exceedingly busy at
weekends).

Some shrines will have spectacular crysanthemum displays too.

Enjoy your trip. It is very pretty and still reasonably warm at this
time of year. Worth looking at the Japan Times website and asking any
local friends for suggestions of transient events worth seeing. eg
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-b...0081024a2.html

Regards,
Martin Brown

On Nov 4, 7:16*pm, wrote:
I am going to Tokyo on business, and shall arive fairly early on
Saturday, half blotto. *I should like to visit some gardens, but
wasn't very impressed by the Tokyo ones when I was last there
(with one exception). *I should also be interested to ride the
bullet train.

So, does anyone have any suggestion of good gardens to visit that
can be visited in c. 6 hours from Tokyo, without too much hassle
(which I won't be able to handle in that state)?

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Nov 4, 7:16*pm, wrote:
I am going to Tokyo on business, and shall arive fairly early on
Saturday, half blotto. *I should like to visit some gardens, but
wasn't very impressed by the Tokyo ones when I was last there
(with one exception). *I should also be interested to ride the
bullet train.

So, does anyone have any suggestion of good gardens to visit that
can be visited in c. 6 hours from Tokyo, without too much hassle
(which I won't be able to handle in that state)?

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Hello,
Sorry about the dud first post... I've lurked here for years and never
posted...

I worked in Tokyo/Yokohama for 3.5 years and have visited Nikko,
Kamakura and Kyoto.
My recommendations for you a

1. Nikko/Lake Chuzenji, but ONLY if you can stay overnight. I did it
once in one day by slow trains (3 changes) and it was a bit too much.
Nikko does have a botanical garden along with the trad stuff:
http://www.nikko-jp.org/english/shigai/plant.html - but I haven't been
to it.


2. Kamakura. Where are you staying in Tokyo? I always brought visitors
to Kamakura. It is always great (but don't expect a nice beach:-))

If you get off at Hase you can walk around a good few temples/shrines
with fab gardens. Do you have Fodor's Guide to Japan? Go to the
shrines marked with an asterisk!

By the way, this (Hase) is where the big-buddha dai-butsu is. (http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dtoku-in)
If you click on the coordinates link on that wikipedia page, then go
for the Google-maps labelled-satellite link you get a good idea of it
from Hase station.
On the way home to Tokyo, you could stop off at Minato-Mirai 21
(Sakura-Gi-Cho = CherryBlossomTree-place station). Plenty of
restaurants where they are more used to english-speakers... some even
have english-language menus.

3. Imperial Palace (easy to remember: ask the Japanese for Kokyo (coke-
yo sounds good enough), but it closes early, can't remember... maybe 4
p.m. in winter???
If you can make it around lunchtime, you can join a free tour (apply
at http://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/)
I put the timetable for November at the end of this post.

As for Kyoto, people rave about the raked gravel stuff. For non-living
garden stuff, I personally prefer the beauty of a good stone wall in
the west of Ireland (and you don't have to keep raking it)

As for the bullet train, although you won't hit top speed, a trip from
Tokyo to Shin-Yokohama won't cost the earth and you might even see a
fleet of yakuza mercs lined up outside the station if it's evening-
time.
There is a medium-sized Bic-Camera electronics store beside the
station where you can easily waste time until your return shinkansen.
NB NB NB: BEFORE GETTING ON, MAKE SURE THE TRAIN STOPS AT SHIN-YOKO or
you will end up going a lot further!


Good luck.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE IMPERIAL PALACE IN TOKYO Openning time of the East Gardens of the
Imperial Palace

November Choose date of visit To next month
day week event time
[:Available, :Full]
note
01 Sat Closed for regular day off
02 Sun Closed for regular day off
03 Mon Culture day Closed for regular day off
04 Tue Application list closed The East Garden is Closed
05 Wed Application list closed the tour is closed for special
occasion
06 Thu Application list closed the afternoon tour is closed for
special occasion
07 Fri Application list closed the afternoon tour is closed for
special occasion/The East Garden is Closed
08 Sat Closed for regular day off
09 Sun Closed for regular day off
10 Mon 10:00 13:30 the morning tour is closed for special
occation/The East Garden is Closed
11 Tue 10:00 13:30
12 Wed 10:00 13:30
13 Thu 10:00 13:30 the afternoon tour is closed for special
occasion
14 Fri 10:00 13:30 the afternoon tour is closed for special
occasion/The East Garden is Closed
15 Sat Closed for regular day off
16 Sun Closed for regular day off
17 Mon 10:00 13:30 the afternoon tour is closed for special
occasion/The East Garden is Closed
18 Tue 10:00 13:30 the afternoon tour is closed for special
occasion
19 Wed 10:00 13:30
20 Thu 10:00 13:30
21 Fri 10:00 13:30 The East Garden is Closed
22 Sat Closed for regular day off
23 Sun Labor Thanksgiving Day Closed for regular day off
24 Mon Closed for regular day off
25 Tue 10:00 13:30 The East Garden is Closed
26 Wed 10:00 13:30
27 Thu 10:00 13:30
28 Fri 10:00 13:30 The East Garden is Closed
29 Sat Closed for regular day off
30 Sun Closed for regular day off
To next month

On Nov 4, 7:16*pm, wrote:
I am going to Tokyo on business, and shall arive fairly early on
Saturday, half blotto. *I should like to visit some gardens, but
wasn't very impressed by the Tokyo ones when I was last there
(with one exception). *I should also be interested to ride the
bullet train.

So, does anyone have any suggestion of good gardens to visit that
can be visited in c. 6 hours from Tokyo, without too much hassle
(which I won't be able to handle in that state)?

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

More resources which I always offer to travellers to Japan:
http://grace.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi

And one to print out, A3-size in colour, if you can for poring-over...

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/info/map_a4ol.pdf (I know there are other
train lines, but JR is easier in general, for non-natives, IMHO).

Thanks again!

I shall plan something :-)

Nick.

In article ,
Bill wrote:

In article ,
wrote:

I am going to Tokyo on business, and shall arive fairly early on
Saturday, half blotto. I should like to visit some gardens, but
wasn't very impressed by the Tokyo ones when I was last there
(with one exception). I should also be interested to ride the
bullet train.

So, does anyone have any suggestion of good gardens to visit that
can be visited in c. 6 hours from Tokyo, without too much hassle
(which I won't be able to handle in that state)?


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

http://www.phototravels.net/kyoto/zen-gardens-index.html

I¹ve no idea if Kyoto is possible to visit.

There is always more so he is some.

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/pdf/pg-808.pdf

Hope it is useful.

Bill

Forgot to mention the Movie ³Lost in translation² deals with Jet lag
and more.

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Translati...dp/B00011RPB0/
ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1226011251&sr=1-1

While listening to

Cherry Blossom Girl 3:42 Air Talkie Walkie Alternative & Punk 100
10 11/6/08 5:40 PM

Bill

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA