Ikedayama Park
This season's opening
Ikedayama Park autumn lighting (Momiji no Miakashi)
- Hours
- In 2025 the gates reopened 17:30–20:30, after the usual 17:00 closing.
- Admission
- Free in 2025
- Booking
- No bookingEntry may be limited when crowded.
The park, normally shut at 17:00, reopens after dark. The maples round the pond in the hollow are lit with layers of warmer and cooler light; in 2024 the display around the pond also used scent and candlelight.
Some parts are dark with steps, so wear sensible shoes; there is no parking. If you can, see the quiet daytime garden first and come back after dark to see how much the same hollow changes.
About the garden
The hilltop neighbourhood of Ikedayama takes its name from this villa of the Ikeda lords of Okayama. From the upper lawn, steps drop into a hollow with a spring-fed pond and a waterfall. A near-empty daimyo garden that rewards the 15-minute walk from Gotanda.
Where to stand
Don't stop at the upper lawn by the entrance; take the steps down to pond level and turn around. The change in height rises like a wall and the surrounding houses disappear. Pause where you can hear the waterfall, then circle the pond and face it from the far bank.
Practical notes
Free, small and genuinely quiet; combine it with Nemunoki-no-niwa, a tiny garden on the site of Empress Emerita Michiko's family home five minutes away. Both are a 15-minute uphill walk from Gotanda or Meguro on the Yamanote line. No cafe; the neighbourhood is residential.
Tea and food nearby
Small places within walking distance. Check their opening days against the garden's.
- ☾ Open after the evening viewing8 min walk🍽 FoodKobayashi Shokudo
A small restaurant on a ground floor in the Ikedayama residential streets, Italian at heart with French technique; after the lights, you can sit down before the 21:00 last order.
Order：Seasonal dishes and a bottle of wine
Mon–Sat 11:30–15:00 (last order 14:00), 17:30–22:00 (last order 21:00)Closed: Sundays, holidays, and the first and third Mondays (so closed on the Sundays and on 23 Nov during the lighting)¥10,000–15,000 in the eveningDetails ↗ - 7 min walk☕ CafeBread & Coffee Ikedayama
A bakery-café at the foot of the Ikedayama slope that makes everything from scratch and roasts its own coffee: somewhere warm to wait for the 17:30 reopening.
Order：Something fresh from the oven and a house-roasted coffee