Ikebukuro - Rikugien Park

This entrancingly beautiful park is only eight minutes' walk from the Railway Station. It is a characteristic example of 18th C landscaping, with a knoll, called Tsukiyama, a lake and an island. What is unusual is the fact that the various landscape features are all connected with literary themes. The park was laid out for a counselor of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Since 1938 it has been in the ownership of the City of Tokyo. Nearby is the Gokukuji Temple.