Asukayama Park, Public park in Ōji, Japan.
Asukayama Park is a public park on a hill in Ōji with more than six hundred cherry trees, three museums, and a play area for children. The hill rises about 25 meters (82 feet) above the surrounding area and offers a view over the nearby residential districts and railway lines.
Tokugawa Yoshimune founded this place in 1720 as a public recreation space for the city's residents, long before Japan established official parks. The official recognition as a park came in 1873, making this location one of the oldest public green spaces in the country.
The park's cherry trees, planted from 1720 under Tokugawa Yoshimune, now number about 650, mostly Somei Yoshino. The Asukayama Monument, erected in 1737, records the hill's origin in Chinese prose so difficult that Edo-period readers called it the unreadable stone. Near the children's plaza stands a monument to Funatsu Denjibei, an agriculturalist honoured in 1899.
The park lies at 1-1-3 Ōji, Kita, about five minutes on foot from Ōji Station on the JR Keihin-Tohoku and Tokyo Metro Namboku lines, or three minutes from the Toden Arakawa Line's Ōji-ekimae or Asukayama stops. A free inclined monorail on the north side carries visitors with mobility impairments up to the hilltop station. A paid car park is also available.
The park's monorail, a slope car opened in 2009, runs on the north side and carries visitors with mobility impairments up to the hilltop station free of charge. Two preserved vehicles stand outdoors: JNR Class D51 steam locomotive 853, built in 1943 and run until June 1972, and Toei 6000 series tram car 6080, built in 1949 and run until April 1978. Both were restored and given shelters during the park's 2005 improvements.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,127 contributors worldwide.
