On an exeptionally sunny and warm day in February, I was in Hamarikyu garden with my guests.
Red and white plum blossoms are blooming. Canola flowers cover the ground as a yellow carpet.
Only 10 minutes walk from the Asian visiter packed narrow streets of Tsukiji Outer Market, Hamarikyu garden is quietly welcoming you with its more than 300 years history.
This is the place where the Tokugawa Shogun visited for duck-hunting in Edo period, 17th to 19th century. A unique place where the office towers with latest internet technologies and the old samurai garden coexist.
Nakano-shima tea house is located on the island of one of the ponds in the garden. In order to get there, you walk across the wooden bridge with wisteria trellis. What a graceful approach!
A traveler from Thailand sitting next to me on the sunny terrace of the tea house said he doesn't like the shinny office towers next to the beautiful Japanese garden, which I don't agree. Actually, I like it very much.
Three young female students (American?) are sitting on the bench on the top of the manmade hill and reading books. The hill was built to see the beautiful pond, elegant tea houses, cherry, plum trees, and pine trees with worm-catching strow belts from an elevated level.
The garden designer of Hamarikyu in Edo period would be very pleased if he knew the foreign young students found the hill as the best location for reading books in the sun.
We decided not to go up the hill. We did't want to bother them.
