Hibiya Park

Hibiya Park at a glance

Built in 1903, Hibiya Koen was Tokyo's first Western-style park. The swampy land was originally used by daimyo on the outskirts of the Tokugawa Shogun's circle of trust. When the country started modernizing after the Meiji Restoration, engineers soon found that the land was too wet to support modern buildings and the government decided to turn it into a park.

Office workers mingle at the park during their lunch break, and the area is popular with families on the weekend. As with parks around the world, couples flock there when the sun goes down.

Hibiya Park has busy public tennis courts, a library, several restaurants, and an open-air concert hall.