Okuma Garden

Okuma Garden is located on the territory of one of the buildings of Waseda University, in Shinjuku District, Tokyo. It is a mixed-looking garden, partly made in Western style and partly in Japanese. The area of the garden is approximately 3000 square meters.

Initially, the garden was the residence of the Matsudaira family and the Ii clan. In 1884, the founder of Waseda University, Okuma Shigenobu, rebuilt the garden in the fashionable Western style. In the heart of the garden was spread a wide lawn, and along its perimeter were landscaped artificial hills and ponds. Also, greenhouses were built here, in which melons were grown for the first time in Japan. After Shigenobu's death, the garden was given to Waseda University.

The park has streams with floating fish, flowering plants, as well as walking paths, along the edges of which stone pagodas, statues and ancient lanterns are erected. The decoration of the garden is a smaller copy of the Korean bell, which was presented by Korean graduates for the centenary of the university.