Former Iwasaki House Garden — Attraction in Tokyo

Kyu-Iwasaki-tei Garden (旧岩崎邸庭園, Kyū-Iwasaki-tei teien) is located in Taitō, Tokyo. It is the former estate of the Iwasaki clan who were the founders of Mitsubishi; the name Kyū-Iwasaki-tei means Old Iwasaki house. The premises have three buildings: a Western-style house designed by British architect Josiah Conder, a Japanese house and a billiard house, and cover an area of about 17,000 square metres. The grounds were originally owned by the Sakakibara family of the Echigo Takada Clan in the Edo period, and were the site of their Edo residence. The property passed to the Makino family of the Maizuru clan in the early Meiji era. In 1896, Hisaya Iwasaki, son of the founder of the Mitsubishi group, Yataro Iwasaki, purchased this land — three years after becoming Mitsubishi's third president. The premises became the official residence of the Iwasaki family. Hisaya Iwasaki hired the British architect, Josiah Conder, who designed a two-story Western-style main building and the Swiss-style billiards house. The whole project actually consisted of more than 20 buildings on 49,500 m2 property. After World War II, the residence was confiscated by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers and after it was returned it was used as the Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court until 1970. Of all that was built, only the Western-style mansion, the billiards house, and one Japanese-style structure remain — victim first to the Liberation of Japan, but more to the Japanese Department of Justice, which demolished nearly all the Japanese-style housing. The present grounds are now less than half their original size. In 1961, the main mansion was saved by being recognized as an Important Cultural Asset status. This was extended to the whole property in 1999. Since 2001, it has been administered by the Tokyo metropolitan government. The garden is about 3 minutes' walk from...

I am visiting Kyu-Iwasaki-tei Gardens now, it’s raining cats and dogs outside because it’s a typhoon day today.

It’s great to visit such a cultural heritage garden and property.

It has tea served here inside the building which I think it’s great opportunity to enjoy tea and dessert in a old Japanese style room. To tell the truth, I do not mind the heavy rain at all. On the contrary, I think it’s better to come here in such a rainy day. Because there are fewer people and the environment is more peaceful. And I like the Japanese style garden so much. I love the persimmon tree in the garden and the red leaves of it. The rain just make the whole scenery looks...

If you’re like me and don’t like crowds, this is a perfect calm spot to walk around and explore beautiful architecture, both traditional and from late 19th century.

You can’t take pictures inside, but it wasn’t a problem for me. You also have to take your shoes off at the entrance and cannot put them back on until you leave the building.

There is a traditional Japanese tea room where you can enjoy hot matcha set, iced matcha set, coffee float, etc. I ordered iced matcha for 890 yen. This part of the building I was allowed to photograph. There was no crowd. There’s also restrooms in the Japanese wing area. Entrance fee is 400 yen. I recommend...