Tokyo Metropolitan Medicinal Botanical Garden — Attraction in Tokyo

I want to rate the garden 5 stars because it's so interesting, but the lack of "services" will put some people off. This is truly a municipal garden. Besides the fact that there are labels for almost every plant, it felt like walking around in a public park.

Due to the density of flora, there were interesting insects too. I saw ants, a bunch of moths and butterflies, hornets, and bees.

The main "draw" to visiting was the restricted plants section, but honestly that was the least impressive part of the garden. You can barely seen the cannabis through the double fences and there weren't any poppies blooming when we went.

If you are a plant-need or a medicine-nerd, I think you'll really enjoy the garden.

If you're looking for a quirky thing to do that, quite frankly, is a little bit out of the way, this might be worth looking into.

A local retiree was there with his plant club. He was quite surprised that tourists would purposely visit the garden. Do with that information, what you will.

Conclusion: I feel like it was time well spent. And I'm happy we went.

It is decidedly NOT a quintessential Japanese experience. I would not necessarily suggest it for someone on their first trip to Japan. If it's of particular interest to you, absolutely, go. But if you feel like you're only mildly interested, do the Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo Tower, Tsukiji, Akihabara, Ginza, Team Lab, Harajuku, etc....

The Tokyo Medicinal Plant Garden is a lovely garden and an educational experience all rolled into one. There are countless plants, and they are constantly being labelled, but there is an air of natural love towards the place by the management in that they do not try to control where the plants are, but label them where they move and disperse. The pamphlets which are freely available are very detailed and educational, and it really is a fulfilling place to study. Expect to be there at least the whole morning if not longer if you are a plant lover or photographer. They have special events about Medicinal or poisonous plants. It is right next to the train station which makes it easy to get to. The only thing that is needed is to make it more accessible to foreign tourists or residents who cannot read Japanese. Thus, if you are a foreign resident, be sure to bring g your picture translation app on your smartphone, so that you can get some good information...

I've been here a few times, and there is always something interesting to see in every season except maybe midwinter. There are different sections of plants for traditional Chinese medicine, folk medicine, pharmaceuticals, dyeing, and even poisons! Plus there's a little space to relax in the middle, a greenhouse, and a small forest. Unfortunately, all the labels are in Japanese, but maybe translation technology can help a bit. A hidden gem that deserves a bit more attention...