The ume of Ikegami grow up a terraced hillside, and under the radar.

Though they tend to get overshadowed by the more famous cherry blossoms, Japan’s plum blossoms, or ume, are not to be missed. Flowering in a range of colors from pure white to a deep purplish pink, ume are lovely to look at and have a sweet scent that can get carried on the breeze. Because they blossom in February, the coldest winter weather is usually over and done, but since it’s not quite spring yet, plum blossoms don’t attract the same sort of rowdy (i.e. drunken) revelry that cherry blossoms often do, making for more relaxed, soothing excursions to see them.

We recently took a look at a handful of ume-viewing day-trip candidates from Tokyo, but there’s actually a very beautiful place to see them without even leaving the capital, one that’s in a part of the city most tourists don’t ever visit.

Ota is the southernmost of Tokyo’s 23 main wards, and aside from Haneda Airport, doesn’t have many places that feature too prominently in most travel itineraries. However, Ota’s Ikegami neighborhood is definitely worth a visit at this time of year to see the Ikegami Baien (Ikegami Plum Garden).

Built on land originally owned by Japanese painter Shinsui Ito, and later by a wealthy restauranteur, ownership of the plot was transferred to Ota Ward in 1978. The terraced garden has some 370 plum blossom trees, representing 30 different of subspecies of the flower, and a winding pedestrian path that leads up the slope to let visitors view the blossoms from various angles as they make their way to the top.

While the garden is quite pretty in the daylight…

…it gets especially enchanting after sundown, when the colors of the gently illuminated ume pop against the night sky.

Though the garden, which has other seasonal flowers, ordinarily isn’t open at night, an exception is made in plum season, when it’s open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Adult admission is just 100 yen (US$0.65), which is a bargain for someplace that looks this cool.

Access-wise, Ikegami Baien is a roughly 15-minute walk from Nishi Magome Station, the last stop on the Asakusa subway line, which can be picked up from Gotanda Station for those coming via the Yamanote train line that circles downtown Tokyo. And if you’re coming all the way here, adding a visit to Ikegami Honmonji, an impressive temple complex with one of Tokyo’s few five-story pagodas, is highly recommended, as it’s just a five-minute stroll from the plum garden.

▼ Walking route from Ikegami Baien to Ikegami Honmonji

▼ Ikegami Honmonji

Ikegami Baien’s light-up event is going on now and continues until March 1.

Garden information
Ikegami Baien / 池上梅園
Address: Tokyo-to, Ota-ku, Ikegami 2-2-13
東京都大田区池上２丁目２−１３
Website

Source, images: PR Times
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