Park · Kichijoji

Inokashira Park 井の頭恩賜公園

Kichijoji's leafy, lakeside park: rent a swan boat on Inokashira Pond under cherry trees, visit the island shrine to Benzaiten and walk through the woods to the Ghibli Museum.

About

Centred on Inokashira Pond, the source of the Kanda River, this 1917 park in Musashino is a local's escape. Some 400 cherry trees lean over the water so that in early April the pond becomes a pink-framed boating lake; rowboats, pedal boats and swan boats are rented year-round. On a small peninsula stands the vermilion Inokashira Benzaiten shrine, whose goddess (legend has it) jealously breaks up couples who boat together, a running joke among Tokyo couples. Weekends bring buskers and artists along the pond's bridges, and there's a small zoo. The western woods lead to the Ghibli Museum (advance tickets required) and the walk back to Kichijoji passes cafés and yakitori joint Iseya.

Highlights

• Swan and rowing boats on cherry-lined Inokashira Pond
• Vermilion Inokashira Benzaiten shrine on the water
• Weekend buskers and craft stalls along the bridges
• Forest path to the Ghibli Museum
• Small Inokashira Park Zoo with the Japanese squirrel house

Tips

• Ghibli Museum tickets must be bought in advance online, they sell out monthly.
• For hanami, go on a weekday morning; boats in cherry season have long waits after 10:00.
• Grab yakitori at Iseya on the steps leading into the park from Kichijoji.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Inokashira Park ZooZoo & Aquarium · 90 m away
• Iseya Koen-ten (Kichijoji)Izakaya · 460 m away
• Ghibli Museum, MitakaMuseum · 470 m away
• Kaze no Sanpomichi & Yamamoto Yuzo Memorial MuseumLocal Secret · 510 m away
• Kichijoji Nakamichi-doriShopping Street · 570 m away
• Uplink KichijojiMovie Theaters · 600 m away
• Coffee Hall KugutsusoCafé & Sweets · 680 m away
• Kichijoji Station · Coin Lockers (JR & Keio Inokashira)Luggage Storage · 700 m away