Spring is one of the best times to get outside and explore Tokyo's beautiful Japanese gardens. You'll find stunning seasonal flowers to admire during the day, but you can also enjoy some of these pristine green spaces after-dark through peaceful and traditional illumination events.
The Japanese gardens at Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa and Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo are celebrating their 70th anniversaries this year with spectacular takeakari bamboo lantern illuminations. The takeakari are created by Chikaken, a company that specialises in making these ornate lanterns.
At the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa garden, you can see the Kannondo Temple Hall, a tangible cultural property, lit up from 5.30pm to 11pm daily until the end of the year. There are 400 bamboo lanterns arranged here, inspired by a moon-watching event that took place in Takanawa during the Edo period (1603-1867).
The Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo garden has around 40 bombori bamboo lanterns and 14 takemari (round ball-like ornaments made from bamboo) along the 25m path between the choshubaku water wheel and Mokushundo restaurant. The camellia and moss garden behind the pagoda and Serenity Garden on the fifth floor is also decked out in beautiful bamboo lanterns and takemari. You can see the illumination from sundown to 11pm daily for the rest of the year.
Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa is free to enter, so you can stroll around whenever you like. However, Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo is only open to guests and those who are dining at the hotel, as well as those who have purchased tickets for the firefly dinner buffet from May 19 to July 2.
Visit the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa and Hotel Chinzaso Tokyo websites for more information.
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