Back in October I spent the day in Kichijoji. Part of that day was spent in Inokashira park which includes the Ghibli Museum I wrote about here: @rt395/finding-totoro-i-went-to-the-ghibli-museum. The museum is only one of the attractions of the park though. There is a large pond, more like a small lake, a shrine, a sports park a zoo and more. Here's a tour of the park.
Inokashira Park is about 20minutes from Shinjuku by train.
From Kichijoji station it's a 5 minute walk.
The route passes through trendy shops and restaurants that will definitely grab your attention so you probably want to include some extra time for shopping & dinning if you visit. The nightlife around here is also fantastic, but that's another story.
As the shop & cafe lined street ends it turns into a staircase that descends down into the park.
You are greeted by tall cedar trees and wide open spaces, a rare luxury in Tokyo.
From here you have the option to go left or right around the lake or straight and across a bridge to a peninsula that juts into the middle of the lake.
On the peninsula you can rent paddle boats for a leisurely ride out onto the lake or visit the small zoo located there.
(Boat Rides)
Unfortunately due to COVID the zoo has been closed.
Crossing the remainder of the bridge to the other side of the lake we make a left turn to see what's ahead.
Soon we come upon this cool little cafe tucked behind some trees. There are a few of these types of cafe's/restaurants around the perimeter of the lake so you have choices besides this one.
I noticed the cafe was actually a truck/van vendor on the porch of the house! Look closely at the two photos.
I'm not sure if this is an original home that was here when the park was established in 1917 or built later, but I find it odd the way this cafe was set up, a truck/van on the porch of a house in the middle of a park.
Continuing on, you'll notice several of these entrances to the park. How awesome would it be to have your home adjacent to the park?
Follow the beige brick road.
Another house cafe appears, but this one is a full cafe you can sit down at.
Just past this cafe the main portion of the lake ends with another bridge crossing.
The bridges are nice places to get shots of the lake.
From here the lake turns into a narrow pond so we turn left and head back up towards the way we came in.
A cherry tree, sakura tree, stretches out over the lake.
Another tree shortly up the path is covered in mushrooms.
The streets on this side of the lake also end right into the park.
There is so much to take in while walking around this park. Writing this post about it is relaxing me and making me look forward to visiting again.
As we near the point we came into the park at, there is a small, community amphitheater.
Open spaces are nice, but the large tree there provides much needed shade during the hot Tokyo summers.
Now we pass the spot we entered at and head to the top of the lake.
Looking over towards the zoo, a crane searches the water for lunch.
As we reach the top of the lake a sign marks "Ochanomizu" tea water, the spring that fed the lake before the redevelopment of the area in 1917.
The small bridge that crosses the stream here also offers a great view of the lake.
At this point we are on the opposite side of the zoo, the beginning of the peninsula. There are several trails here that will take you to the Ghibli Museum, the sports park or the shrine straight ahead.
Let's continue on and finish up our tour of Inokashira Park at the shrine.
The shrine is dedicated to Benzaiten, the female goddess for both Buddhists & Shinto. She originally came from the Hindu goddess Saraswati in India and was imported into Japan sometime around 500A.D. Japanese incorporated her into their faiths and she became the goddess of good fortune. So it's no surprise that the Japanese built her shrine at this peaceful point on the lake, ever looking out at the beautiful views.
A duck leads her ducklings around the water.
Looking back at the bridge we came across. Now we will take a right turn towards the shrine.
Tucked away amongst the trees and greenery, the shrine sits peacefully on the lake.
I did not take any photos inside of the shrine, which means you'll have to go visit if you want to know what's inside.
The shrine is where we end this portion of Tokyo Travel. A walk around the lake took me a little over 1 hour. I walked fast and didn't stop at any shops. If you visit give yourself plenty of time to take things in, take pictures, try a cafe and maybe even a boat ride.
In the next installment I'll take you around Kichijoji city, one of the coolest spots in Tokyo. Until then, here is a teaser of Tokyo Travel #4.
And the fairytale cat cafe.
