Inokashira Park is a really beautiful park located in the west of Tokyo which is not as popular among tourists as other parks like Yoyogi or Shinjuku Gyoen. Many times I prefer to come to Inokashira because it’s much more quiet and some parts have a nice Japanese style touch.
Inokashira Park belonged to the imperial family but the emperor donated it as a gift to the Japanese people almost a hundred years ago. The green area of the park surrounds a quite big lake which is called Inokashira as well; at the end of the lake there is a temple dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten. One of the most popular things to do in Inokashira Park is to rent a duck-shaped pedal boat. Legend has it that couples that go together into a pedal boat in Inokashira lake will see their love strengthened. If you like manga and anime maybe you will recognize Inokashira Park, as it is usually seen in series like GTO or Video Girl Ai (if I remember well there are at least a couple of romantic scenes set in one of the bridges over the lake).
The get to Inokashira Park you have go to Kichijoji station (JR Chuo line in Tokyo) and then walk five minutes south. A great way to spend a pleasant day is to combine a walk in Inokashira Park with a visit to the Ghibli Museum, which is right at the end of the park to the southwest.
Temple dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten.
This is the same temple painted in ukiyo-e by Hiroshige.
Feeding pigeons and carps at the same time.
All those trees are sakura trees that will blossom very soon.
