Kiyosumi Gardens

The rocks are the point here. When Iwasaki Yataro, founder of Mitsubishi, bought this run-down former daimyo villa in 1878, he and his successors had their company's steamships bring prized stones from across Japan, Izu shore rock, blue Iyo stone, Sanuki granite, and set them around a large pond fed with water from the Sumida River. It opened in 1880 as a place for staff recreation and receiving guests. Walk the iso-watari, a line of flat stepping stones laid right at the water's edge, and the view of the three islands changes every few steps. The Ryotei, a sukiya-style pavilion built out over the pond in 1909 to host Lord Kitchener, survived both the 1923 earthquake and the war. During that earthquake the garden saved many lives as an evacuation site, and in 1924 the Iwasaki family gave the eastern half to Tokyo City, which opened it in 1932. The stepping stones are uneven and can be slippery after rain, so watch your footing. Entry is 150 yen. The Fukagawa Edo Museum is three minutes away from the same station.