Jindai Botanical Garden

Jindai Botanical Garden (神代植物公園) is located at the edge of the Musashino plateau just above Jindaiji Temple in Chofu, Tokyo, Japan. Each of its 30 areas features varieties of one kind of plant. Displays of ume, cherries, azalea, dogwood, peonies, roses, wisteria, etc. can be seen every month of the year. In addition, in front of the temple below there is a wetland annex for aquatic plants, where irises are cultivated. It has 100,000 trees and shrubs representing approximately 4,500 varieties, each with an identifying label. The park has a plant protection program to preserve endangered Japanese species plus exhibitions and activities related to gardening for the benefit of local citizens. Just outside the rear gate there is an area where a few choice plants are sold to visitors. The site of Jindai Botanical Garden was once part of a medieval fortress said to date from 1537. Later it was a nursery that supplied street trees to Tokyo. After the war it was opened to the public as “Jindai Ryokuchi (green lung)” and in 1961 was given its current name as it became the first botanical garden in Tokyo. Downhill from the garden is the Jindaiji Temple, the second oldest one in Tokyo. Location: Jindaiji Motomachi 5-31-1-Chofu City, Tokyo 182-0017 Directions: From Chofu Station on the Keio Line, take an Odakyu bus, destination Mitaka or Kichijoji. Get off at Jindaiji Shokubutsu Koen Mae. (Article based on Wikipedia article and used under the GNU Free Documentation License) |