A paradise for families, this sprawling park was opened on the site of the old Tachikawa air base in 1983, to mark the golden jubilee of Emperor Showa. Fifteen minutes' walk from Tachikawa Station, the 1.8sq km (0.7sq miles) park boasts a wide range of facilities, including spacious lawns, wooded areas and seasonal flower gardens. Kids will enjoy splashing around in the Rainbow Pool or making mischief in the Children’s Forest play area, where they can immerse themselves in clouds of artificial mist. The park also has some lengthy cycling tracks (bike rental for three hours costs ¥350 for under-15s, ¥600 for adults), as well as pedal boats, mini golf and a range of other games and activities.
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Details
- Address
- 3173 Midorimachi, Tachikawa-shi
- Tokyo
- Transport:
- Nishi-Tachikawa Station (Ome line)
- Price:
- ¥450, free for junior high school students and younger children
- Opening hours:
- Mar 1 to Oct 31, 9.30am-5pm; Nov 1 to end Feb, 9.30am-4.30pm; Apr 1 to Sep 30 on Sat, Sun & hols 9.30am-6pm. In summer, Jul 16 to 3rd Sun of Aug, 9.30am to 7pm, when the pool is open; 3rd Mon of Aug to Sep 4, 9.30am-6.30pm.
What’s on
Showa Kinen Park is the most beautiful in autumn, with the maple and ginkgo trees blushing in fiery red and yellow respectively. The ginkgo trees are the first to turn and you can see two boulevards of the golden yellow trees as soon as you enter the park’s Tachikawa gate. These trees are expected to turn full yellow in mid-November. The momiji and kaede trees, however, present their signature vermillion hues a bit later towards the end of November.
During this season, the park stays open after dark, with special light-ups taking place at the Gingko Tree Avenue (near the futsal and basketball courts) and the traditional Japanese Garden from 4.30pm until 8.30pm.
While you can enjoy the light-ups at Gingko Tree Avenue with just the park's regular admission fee (¥450, free for junior high school students and younger), you need an extra ticket to enter the Japanese Garden (advance ticket online ¥1,200, primary and junior high school students ¥600; same-day tickets sold at Komorebi House close to the Japanese Garden ¥1,300, ¥700).
Tickets to enter the Japanese Garden are now available to purchase online.
Note that the main entrance for this year's event is the Nishi-Tachikawa gate, a 2-minute walk away from Nishi-Tachikawa Station on the Ome Line.
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