Stuck between a concrete road bridge, an apartment building and a children‘s playground, the garden is virtually deserted outside of the month long Japanese Iris Festival, when thousands of kimono clad women and old men in floppy hats converge on the flowers to stroll and take photos. The whole of the small garden can be seen in one sweeping gaze. Near the entrance a stone bridge no more than a foot above water level traces a gentle arc between circular hedges and sloping tree trunks, fronting a square traversed by winding wooden boards and gravel paths between the few other decorative features - a stone lantern and wooden trellis fencing. Visitor facilities are spotted around irregularly - a couple of tatami mat rooms at the front gate, some low wooden benches along the pathways and a tiny viewing hut tucked away at the top of some steps in the back corner. It may not sound very much, but the overall effect is quite lovely - a typically subtle Japanese triumph over the mundane concrete surroundings. Even the garden’s inconvenient location works in its favour - while tourists flock to Hama Rikyu, the East Gardens at the Imperial Palace and Ueno Park, Horikiri is undiscovered by all but the locals. Outside of the festival it’s not somewhere I’d recommend travelling too far to see, unless you really feel a desperate need to tick off every garden in the city. However, if you’re spending time in Ueno and want an afternoon away from the Tokyo tourist trail then Horikiri is a great place to while away an hour or two.

To reach Horikiri Gardens take the Keisei Line from Ueno or Nippori to Horikiri-shobuen Station then walk west for around five minutes. Entrance is free.