Everytime I visit my friend's place in Ota City, I would alway wonder what lies in Senzoku-ike station. It's another train station on the Tokyu Ikegami line, and because it has ike in its name, I'm pretty sure it's not just another residential area.
And I was right.
It was a spring day and I have decided to finally check out what's in this train station. After crossing the street, my eyes feasted with the scenic view. I was excited to see cherry blossoms in an unexpectedly big pond! I was right, it's a park - and a nice one in that!
Senzokuike Park (洗足池) is the name of this beautiful park. Ike (池) means pond in English, so this freshwater pond is actually called Senzoku Pond. In honor of Nichiren Shonin, the founder of the Nichiren School of Buddhism, was said to have washed his feet here, hence the name Senzoku (洗 sen means wash, 足 zoku means feet).
This park is also present in history! In the Edo period, the park has been featured in many literary works and pictures. It is said that a Japanese warlord visits a shrine inside the park.
Senzokuike Park was a designated place of scenic beauty in Tokyo on 2019. I also think the views of the pond is beautiful til today!
There were benches to sit on and because I wanted to relax and take in the good nature before me, I sat for a while not minding the time. There were families enjoying the boat rides and some children playing by the pond.
At the back where I was sitting, there were cherry blossom trees waiting for me to see. It's on an elevated part of the park, so you can also see the pond there beautifully.
I passed by this wooden bridge that connects to the other side - where the Senzoku Hachiman Shrine and a statue of a prominent horse were located.
After a while, I continued traversing the pond. I passed by some stalls selling food. It was a festival! I think they're celebrating the cherry blossoms festival because it was in bloom.
On an upper area there were more stalls that were popular for kids: shooting games and other games. While buying baby castella for my snacks, I was watching some boys shoot. The gun looked heavier than them but they managed.
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I also got some takoyaki from a festival food stall. I didn't really like the idea of eating while walking so I looked for another bench and sat there while I ate. With this view, I was surely enjoying my afternoon snack.
After snacks, I continued exploring the park. There was a baseball court nearby where some students were practicing. It would have been nice to watch them play but I couldn't find any seats outside the court so I went on.
Next I found was a shrine where I needed to cross a bridge. From afar, the colors of the shrine was so striking that I couldn't resist my curiosity so I went to check it out. It was a peaceful shrine in a small island in this pond.
I reached a wooden bridge and an aquatic plant garden where I've seen some koi fishes trying to call my attention. They were so lovely to watch, but sorry, I didn't have any food for you. 😅
I was almost finished traversing the entire park when I reached the area where a lot of cherry blossoms tree were located. Since it's hanami (花見 flower watching in English) season, many groups were out here laying out their mats with food and drinks. I was so surprised there were lots of people here compared to the rest of the park.
The view of the pond from here was so beautiful! I could understand why there were many people out here than on the other side. Plus, it was almost sunset so it was such a beautiful sight to see - the pond, the park and the sunset.
There's also a temple nearby but I didn't enter since it was already late. It's the Myofukuji Temple and you have to enter through here to get inside.
I spent a lovely afternoon at Senzokuike Park and because of that, I was recharged! It was such a joy I was able to find such a hidden gem in one of the wards of Tokyo. I'm not so familiar with Ota City, so this was such a delight. Glad I took that descent in this train station and have now discovered something beautiful!
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
With love,
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.