Numazu Imperial Villa Memorial Park

An elegant residence in a wild green garden

Peter Sidell May 08, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>Much of the garden is running wild, but you'll also find beds of colorful flowers</p>

<p>The main gate to the park, though the actual visitor entrance is a couple of minutes away</p>

<p>This grove of trees stands at the entrance</p>

<p>Much of the garden is like this, a miniature forest of tall, slender trees</p>

<p>The edge of the park gives a view out over Suruga Bay</p>

<p>Especially at the edge of the park, the trees have been bent back by the wind off the bay</p>

<p>There's a decorative path between the two separate parts of the garden</p>

<p>Sometimes in amongst the trees you'll find a lawn, and here a picnic shelter</p>

<p>The southern part of the garden also has these frames with wisteria hanging from them, and bees buzzing busily around</p>

<p>The rooms of the villa are cool, light and airy</p>

<p>The former imperial kitchen, though I doubt the Emperor did any cooking himself</p>

<p>There's plenty of natural light in the villa</p>

<p>The Emperor's elegant sitting-room</p>

<p>Towards the exit there were a number of rooms with displays of hanging toys and dolls, perhaps for the Emperor's kids to enjoy</p>

A bus ride or longish walk from Numazu station is the Imperial Villa Memorial Park, a former residence for the Japanese imperial family, now open to the public; entry to the park costs ¥100, to the park and villa together ¥400. Much of the park is running a little wild, with high grass, untended paths and tightly packed groves of tall, slender trees, but there are also lawns, flower beds and a small but peaceful pond. The elegant, immaculately preserved villa is worth taking your time to look around; it's enjoyably light and airy, and it gives an interesting insight into how the imperial family lived.

Peter Sidell @peter.sidell

I came to Japan from Manchester, England in 2003, and have travelled a lot since then, around Japan and in Asia. When I'm not working, I write satire and perform stand-up comedy in and around Tokyo. Check YouTube for a taste.