Best Tokyo parks -- our pick of the top spots

Tokyo is one of the great modern megacities -- a boundless field of energy, vertical and horizontal, scrolling out in every direction. The downside of all its odd angles and bright lights is an excess of concrete and a lack of open space. Or is it?

Amid the network of underground malls, pedestrian arcades and public transit platforms, a visitor could travel for days without seeing evidence of the natural world.

There are, however, any number of parks, gardens and urban oases, some half-hidden behind office towers or between apartment blocks, others huge and sprawling, where you can still take refuge in greenery if you know where to look, even in winter. Fortunately, we do ...

Here's our guide to some of the best Tokyo parks.

1. Shinjuku Gyoen

Probably the closest thing in Tokyo to New York’s Central Park -- a sudden break in the skyscrapers reveals an expanse of wide lawns, landscape gardens, and tree-lined footpaths. One of the best Tokyo parks is only a 10-minute walk from Shinjuku Station, the most crowded public transport hub in Asia.

The gardens are home to over 1,500 cherry trees and are open seven days a week.

Getting there: Shinjuku Station, park admission ¥200.

2. Yoyogi Park

The eye-popping daily fashion parade of the nearby Harajuku district spills over into this park at the weekends, where tribes of young Japanese dress like American high-school girls from the 1950s, or Elvis in his black leather comeback phase, and dance to antiquated rock ’n’ roll around their boomboxes.

Deeper into one of the best Tokyo parks, under big, leafy trees, gifted music students practice on their harps or violins, and dogs of the same pedigree gather like street gangs with their owners.

All of Tokyo life is in here, but at more relaxed pace.

Getting there: Harajuku Station, admission free.

3. Imperial Palace East Gardens

Removed from the high-rise commercial district around Tokyo Central by a ring of bridges and moats, the palace gardens continue to exist in their own hushed bubble, the atmosphere slightly rarefied by proximity to the Imperial family.

The gardens in one of the best Tokyo parks are also given a hint of exclusivity by memories of the shogun and their samurai who used to rule Japan from this spot for over two and a half centuries, when the palace was called Edo Castle.

Getting there: Tokyo Station, admission free.

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