Guide & Photos of Autumn Leaves in Hibiya Park, Tokyo, Japan

I’ve written about top places to view autumn leaves in Tokyo on this blog going along with Tokyo Direct Guide. This year, I’d like to add a NEW article to the travel guides – it’s Hibiya Park, which is in the heart of Tokyo City!

Well, Hibiya Park is located between Yurakucho and Shinbashi Station of JR Yamanote and Keihin-tohoku Line. If you have already read The Easiest JR Train Map by Tokyo Direct Guide, you’d see it’s really a place of urban life.

I walked from Shinbashi Station. I entered the park and took some photos of fully yellow maidenhair leaves with big smiles on my face. When I faced this view,

I got sure that I came to a right place at the right time!

Photo Gallery

The views were just BREATHTAKING. You want to see how beautiful the autumn leaves were, don’t you? So I’ll share my photos before practical travel guides!

This is the Japanese garden area in Hibiya Park. The pond was surrounded by yellow maidenhair leaves and red maple leaves.

I felt as if I was dreaming…

The crane-shaped fountain is really eye-catching, isn’t it?

Ordinary travel guidebooks will never tell you that this crane is pretty well-known among Japanese locals. When it snows in Tokyo City in winter, many TV reporters, weather forecasters and enthusiastic photographers RUSH to it. Why? Actually, when it’s cold enough, the crane gets icicles under the wings!! It’s so beautiful and interesting to see, and that’s why this crane is pretty popular among Japanese locals.

Talking about photos, herons were idols for photographers as well as in other Japanese gardens in Tokyo.

So picturesque… Herons often comes to Japanese gardens for their lunch, so you have many chances to see them, too.

What’s amazing was that red and yellow are so bright and vivid here. I think the maple trees and maidenhair trees can get much sunshine here.

Shining. The autumn views in Hibiya Park were shining. As a Japanese local I go somewhere to see autumn leaves every year, but I never get bored. The beautiful moment lasts forever. Autumn leaves make us feel as if we are dreaming.

What kind of place is Hibiya Park?

Many people still believe that Tokyo is a jungle of silver skyscrapers. I say it’s WRONG. There are greens in Tokyo City. There are open places to feel freedom. Hibiya Park is one of them.

See? Hibiya Park is SO LARGE although it is located in the heart of Tokyo City!

The red brick building is a local public hall.

In Japan, red brick buildings are “retro-modern” architecture after samurais’ ages. It shows us that this was a central place for modern Japan that needed new buildings. It gives some romantic feelings to today’s people like me.

In lunch time, many urban professionals working in the silver buildings open their lunch boxes. Some are strolling around the park to refresh. Yes, Hibiya Park is a local place rather than a tourist spot!

The views are so beautiful, so some people came here to sketch.

Autumn leaves are inside our lives.

I know a Japanese local man who said, “I went to see red maple leaves in the famous temple in Kyoto. I had to queue for 3 hours and I saw more humans than red maple leaves.” …What do you think? His travel story was a “that’s too bad” kind of joke rather than a beautiful memory. With today’s tourism, some autumn leaves spots become TOO popular. But originally, autumn leaves are not something that requires us painstaking efforts.

Considering that nature of how to enjoy autumn leaves, I think Hibiya Park is just excellent in some ways. We can see BREATHTAKING views without any queues. We can enter the park anytime we like. We don’t need even entrance fees!

If you have a tight schedule, you’ll pick up more famous autumn leaves spots such as Koishikawa Korakuen Garden and Rikugien Garden (Don’t worry, you don’t need to queue AT ALL in these gardens!). But it’s worth remember that you have easygoing options, too. Especially, if there are travelers who stayed at Imperial Hotel and didn’t go to see autumn leaves in Hibiya Park just in front of them, I bet that they were unlucky people who didn’t read my sites!

Having a beautiful time with exploring perfect autumn leaves in a large green park in the urban district in Tokyo – What do you feel about an experience like this?

Practical Guide of Hibiya Park

How to Get to Hibiya Park

A 10 minutes walk from Yurakucho or Shinbashi Station of JR Yamanote Line and Keihin-Tohoku Line.

Free to enter.

Google Maps

Link to Google Maps (Open in a new tab)

Accommodation

Hibiya Park reminds Tokyo locals of Imperial Hotel, which is a retro-modern Japanese hotel just in front of the park. We can learn it’s a hotel with traditions – today’s people never name their hotel “imperial”! Many important people from foreign countries have stayed there since the 19th century. Staying near Hibiya Park means staying in the heart of Tokyo City.

See MORE Autumn Leaves in Tokyo!

• Koishikawa Korakuen Garden – A beautiful Japanese garden originated from a samurai mansion in Tokyo City. Koishikawa Korakuen Garden is definitely one of the best autumn color spots in Japan!
• Rikugien Garden – It’s originated from a samurai mansion, too. You can have a genuin matcha in Rikugien Garden. I recommend this garden, too!
• Shinjuku Gyoen Garden – A super large green beautiful park in Mid Tokyo. Some locals say this is the best autumn color spot in Tokyo!
• Meiji Jingu Gaien Autumn Leaves Festival – This place is famous for yellow maidenhair trees lined straight. It’s a popular autumn color spot among travelers, but it’s confusing hot to get there. If you visit there, read my guides!
• Kamakura – Kamakura is samurais’ old capital, which is a great day trip destination from Tokyo today. Famous for the Great Buddha. Really beautiful in autumn.