Kyu-Furukawa Gardens

Garden

Prefecture

Tokyo

Type

Garden

N/A

0 reviews

¥150

Entry Fee

Train Access Cafe

About This Destination

A Western-style stone mansion finished in 1917 to a design by Josiah Conder, with a sloping rose garden below it and a Japanese pond garden by the Kyoto gardener Ogawa Jihei VII at the bottom. The garden costs 150 yen; the mansion is a separate ticket.

The house sits at the top of the slope, walls of rough-stacked Manazuru andesite under a slate roof, and everything else falls away beneath it. Josiah Conder, the British architect behind the Rokumeikan and Nikolai-do, designed it and it was finished in May 1917 for the Furukawa family, who had taken over the estate from the statesman Mutsu Munemitsu. Below the house come the formal terraces of the rose garden, about 100 varieties on some 200 bushes, and below those a Japanese pond garden laid out by the Kyoto gardener Ogawa Jihei VII. The 1923 earthquake sent around 2,000 people here for shelter. The state took the property after the war, Tokyo opened it to the public in 1956, and it became a national Place of Scenic Beauty in 2006. Roses peak in mid-May and again in October, and those weekends get crowded, with tripods banned at busy times. The garden ticket does not cover the house: the Otani Museum runs it separately, with a one-hour guided tour you book online, and it shuts on Mondays. The paths are full of steps and slopes. Rikugien is on the other side of Komagome Station, so the two make an easy pair.

Location

Prefecture: Tokyo

Address: Tokyo, Japan

Nearest Station: Kami-Nakazato Station

Opening hours: Mon–Sun 09:00–17:00

Closed: Closed December 29 to January 1. The mansion keeps its own hours and is closed on Mondays (on the following Tuesday when Monday is a national holiday).

Hours note: Last entry to the garden 16:30. The mansion, run separately by the Otani Museum, is open 10:30 to 16:30 with last entry at 16:00, and can also close for maintenance.

Best time to visit: Rose festivals in spring (late April to June, best around mid-May) and autumn (October to November); autumn leaves in the Japanese garden in late November

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Visitor Information

Credit Cards: Unknown

Official Website

Frequently Asked Questions

When do the roses bloom at Kyu-Furukawa Gardens?

Twice a year. The spring rose festival runs from late April into June, with the peak usually around mid-May, and an autumn rose festival is held through October into early November. The exact dates and current bloom status are posted on the official site.

Can I go inside the mansion, and how much does it cost?

Yes. The Otani Museum charges 500 yen for adults, or 800 yen with a one-hour guided tour that you book online; the 150-yen garden fee is paid separately. The mansion is open 10:30 to 16:30 (last entry 16:00) and closed on Mondays.

Is the garden suitable for wheelchairs or strollers?

Only partly. The garden is built on a slope with many steps, so check the barrier-free route map on the official site first. The mansion's first floor can be reached with a portable ramp if you contact the Otani Museum in advance.