Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum

Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum is one of the best places to visit in Tokyo. It was built as a residence of Prince Asaka in 1933. Henri Rapin and Rene Lalique, both famous French designers, were invited to decorate its interior in Art Deco style. Art Deco is a style which was popular in Europe in arts and crafts, architecture, pictures, fashion, etc. from the 1910s to the 1930s. A few decades after the Prince Asaka family moved out, it was renovated as a museum and was opened to the public in 1983. Inside the building, you will be impressed with a spectacular Art Deco atmosphere. When you go outside, the dazzling green garden will come into your sight. It consists of a Western style grass area and a Japanese style garden with a pond, miniature hills and a tea house. This museum gives you a perfect opportunity to enjoy both the arts and nature.

To see the official website, click here.

Institute for Nature Study

In contrast, the Institute for Nature Study next door to the museum is a spacious park that gives you a totally different impression as if you were in a deep forest. It is a wonderful sanctuary for plants and birds that has been preserved in the heart of Tokyo. Evergreen trees like chinquapin and pine, and deciduous trees like quercus serrata and zelkova spread out through an area of 200,000㎡ with ponds and marshes. A reason for such vast area of nature being preserved in the middle of Tokyo is that access to the site was restricted for a long time as follows. In the Edo period, the feudal lord Matsudaira’s family took up residence in this area. In the Meiji era, army and navy forces placed an ammunition depot here. THen it turned into Imperial Estate in 1917, and was taken over by the Ministry of Education in 1949. Let’s enjoy a walk in the “forest” with beautiful autumn leaves.

To see the official website, click here.

 

November 5th, 2018
Edited by: Meguro International Friendship Association(MIFA)