Meguro Sky Garden

Unclaimed

Love how Tokyo uses their limited space! Here we found a garden oasis on the top of a building built above an expressway! Take the lift on the inside of this round structure to the roof...we found it quiet on a warm afternoon. Plenty of shade & terrific views will be your reward. Makes a perfect picnic area.

A lovely and interesting place to visit, though it is more a neighborhood curiosity than an actual tourist attraction. The reason for my visit was because I walked past it daily during a month-long stay in Tokyo. I enjoyed the rooftop garden, which sits at about six stories above ground level. This is high enough to afford a view (partially obstructed) of Mt Fuji, but then, in clear weather, this is true of any vantage point in Tokyo that is both high enough and facing the right direction. Although I rate it 5 stars, I would not rate it above numerous other attractions throughout Tokyo. There are many more spectacular gardens and other interesting attractions throughout Tokyo which should be higher on your list (Shibuya Sky, for example, is less than a mile away, 4x higher and offers 10x superior views, for a reasonable price). The Meguro Sky Garden is free to visit, but it is not set up as a formal tourist destination. Although it is easy to access, there is no information booth or visible staff personnel that I encountered on my visit. On the contrary, it felt very much like I had stumbled onto a neighborhood park, albeit six stories in the air, and requiring an elevator ride to get there. The garden is also smaller than one might imagine from the ground: Most of the space is actually air, since the largest portion of the interior space is taken by a stadium sized athletic field at ground level. It was a worthwhile visit for someone who was living in the neighborhood. I could see the entire clean, lovely space in 30 minutes or so. I would not recommend it as a separate trip, however, unless you have a specific or special interest in this type of architecture.

We actually were trying to go to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery along the Meguro River, however when we got there, the queue was two hours long! So off we went exploring when I happened upon the sign “Meguro Sky Garden.” Of course, that piqued my interest. It took some trickery and asking the locals questions (which they so happily answered for us) but we finally found it! I should’ve remembered the word SKY in the name, it was about 5 stories above the hustle and bustle of Meguro. As soon as you step Out of the elevator, you are greeted with peace and serenity. Nothing is rushed here. You can stroll along at a leisurely pace to look at the beautiful plants they have! They even had fruit trees and a few cherry blossom trees which were in bloom! We were also able to go at our pace, using google translate to find the names of the plants. This little garden was free, clean, spacious and a great place to gather your thoughts before you go back into the “jungle” of the city.

If you are a foreigner, good luck finding it. Most of the signs to the entrances are not translated. It is a nice oasis in the middle of the city.