Bonsai plant in Showa Kinen Koen. Many of the plants in this lovely little bonsai garden are hundreds of years old and some are equisitely beautiful. There are also huge fields of flowers, a Japanese garden, and an incredible children’s playground. The children’s playground has giant, climbable dragon sculptures, rubber mountains for bouncing on, a water park, unicycle training area, and a “sea of mist”. The best time to see the flowers is late-April to early-May, but the park is enjoyable any time. It’s on the Chuo Line about 30 minutes from Shinjuku. Click here for the park’s website.

Editor’s note: this post was originally published in May 2008 and has been updated.