Tokugawa-en

The black gate on Tokugawa-en's west side, thick-timbered and lacquered, dates from 1899 and is about the only thing here that looks old. That is not a complaint. In 1695 Tokugawa Mitsutomo, the second lord of Owari, retired to a residence on this spot, and the Owari Tokugawa kept it until 1931, when the 19th head gave it to Nagoya. The 1945 air raids burned most of it, and for decades it was an ordinary city park. In 2004 the city rebuilt it as an Edo-style stroll garden, and 20 years of growth have softened it. The layout uses the old slope: a stream drops over the Ozone waterfall, runs down a small ravine and widens into Ryusenko pond, which stands in for the sea, with heavy rock arrangements along the banks. It is 2.3 hectares, enough for 40 minutes at an easy pace. Tree peonies flower in spring, irises in early summer, and the maples around the pond colour in late autumn. Entry is 300 yen; a combined ticket with Nagoya Castle costs 1,040 yen. Pair it with the Tokugawa Art Museum next door.