With over 10 million people living in Japan’s capital Tokyo, it’s easy to sometimes feel overwhelmed in this frenetic, bustling and crowded city. After hitting the busy traveller hotspots of the Shibuya Crossing and hip Harajuku, you’re going to want to take a step back to recharge and unwind. Here Anna Chittenden, the author of Lost Guides – Tokyo & Beyond reveals four unusual and offbeat places to relax:
Tokyo and Beyond
Hamarikyu Gardens
‘Picturesque Park’
This gorgeous Japanese landscaped garden is an oasis of tranquility just a short walk from bustling Ginza and Tsukiji Market. Hamarikyu Gardens is joyfully uncrowded and is beautifully designed, with bridges, ponds and teahouses dotted around. During each season there are different flowers to enjoy. I visited the garden in March and saw fields of bright-yellow rapeseed flowers and pretty pink plum trees in bloom. After wandering around the gardens, have a traditional tea experience at Nakajima Tea House, where they serve green tea and wagashi sweets with views over the gardens.
Address: 1 Hamarikyuteien, Chuo City
Metro: Shiodome
Opening Hours: Mon – Sun 9am – 4.30pm
Price: ¥300
Thermae-Yu
‘Sumptuous Super-Sento’
Thermae-Yu is a super-sento, a spacious serene spa located conveniently in Shinjuku. Open 24-hours a day, it’s the department store of spas. It has a huge choice of spa experiences, ranging from the highly carbonated bath to the outdoor stone lying-down bath – and then there’s the steam room, with vats of clay and salts to clean your skin. Using natural hot spring water transported from Nakaizu everyday, Thermae-Yu is one of the most relaxing places to spend a few hours, and a quintessential Japanese bathing experience. Note: they allow foreigners with tattoos, but you’ll need to cover them up.
Address: 1-1-2 Kabukicho, Shinjuku City
Metro: Shinjuku
Website: thermae-yu.jp/hot-springs
Opening Hours: Mon – Sun, 24-hours
Price: ¥ 2,364
Japan Open Air Folk House Museum
‘Restored Japanese Residences’
The Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum is a world away from the capital city, located in Kanagawa Prefecture just south of Tokyo, surrounded by thick woodland. Wander around this tranquil open-air village museum, which has 20 traditional ‘minka’ houses. Go inside a Gassho-style thatched farmhouse from early 18th-century Toyama Prefecture, with a blazing open fire, and see a 19th-century Kabuki stage used for performances from the Shima Peninsula. An interesting and interactive way to get a slice of Japan’s history, the museum is uncrowded and well priced at ¥500. It also has an indigo-dyeing workshop if you’re interested in local crafts.
Address: 7-1-1 Masugata, Tama Ward, Kawaski City
Metro: Mukogaoka-Yuen
Website: nihonminkaen.jp
Opening Hours: Tues – Sun 9.30am – 5pm, Closed Mon
Price: ¥500
Inshotei
Inshotei is an enchanting restaurant, located in what looks like a rambling, ramshackle old wooden house in the middle of leafy Ueno Park. Established in 1875 as a manor house for overseas guests, the restaurant feels like it’s in the middle of the countryside, where every diner is able to enjoy gorgeous views of the park from vast glass windows. They do wonderful lunch sets, beautifully presented and almost too pretty to eat. I had the ‘Hanakagozen Tuki’ set (¥2,600), with grilled fish, 15 different seasonal vegetables, sides of miso and chawanmushi and a small dessert of mocha wrapped in a green leaf.
Address: 4-59 Ueno Park, Taito City
Metro: Ueno
Website: innsyoutei.jp
Opening Hours: Mon – Sun 11am – 3pm,5pm – 11pm
Price: ¥2,6000
Extracted from Lost Guides – Tokyo & Beyond, A Unique, Stylish and Offbeat Travel Guide to Tokyo and places easily reached from the city, by Anna Chittenden
Photo credits: Hamarikyu Gardens, Japan Open Air Folk House Museum, Inshotei - Anna Chittenden, Thermae-Yu - Thermae-Yu.
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