Komagome Station 駒込駅
La gare des azalées
Komagome est une gare de la ligne Yamanote très nature avec de jolis jardins la bordant. Et le tableau est dressé dès que l’on pose le pied sur son quai avec les nombreux buissons d’azalées qui sont disposés de chaque côté. Lors de leur floraison chaque printemps, le spectacle est déjà magnifique depuis la gare même.
Komagome Station was built on November 15, 1910, on the heights to the east of Toshima District. It is served by the JR Yamanote Line as well as the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line. Komagome is a small station, very quiet, in a neighborhood that is just as quiet although it does not lack attractions.
The famous fumikiri - a level crossing
From Komagome Station, you can see some high-speed trains of the JR Tohoku Line passing offshore. A must for train enthusiasts!
But the most interesting is the only level crossing of the entire Yamanote line. It is located about 400 meters from the station, in the direction of Tabata station. With the good frequency of the line's trains (they pass very often and regularly), the barriers are often closed, a photo opportunity in the late afternoon when the low sun floods with its warm light!
Next to it, a gigantic golf ball sits impassively, advertising an indoor golf club...
Historical sakura
On the station platforms, you lose your gaze for a moment in the colored balls of azaleas before a train quickly arrives. The "JR Melody" which announces the closing of the doors is "sakura, sakura " the tune of a traditional Japanese song composed during the Edo period (1603-1868), in connection with the blossoming of the cherry trees!
The most common variety of Japanese cherry tree is "Somei Yoshino", and it was created around 1720, right next to here . We are therefore at the heart of what has been the soul of Japan for centuries and which the crowds have been seeking for all this time.
The Rikugi-en Garden and its illuminations
It is a Japanese garden created from 1695 to 1702 by Yanagisawa, a close friend of the 5th Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. The wonderful landscape that emerged from the ground was inspired by Waka poetry, with hills, ponds, forests…
Rikugi-en has stood the test of time and history, avoiding major destruction from the 1923 earthquake or the aerial bombardments of World War II. The symbols of this garden are the azaleas (blooming from April to May), the weeping cherry trees (blooming at the end of March), and the colors of the koyo in autumn (the leaves turning red and yellow), which are then highlighted by illuminations.
- Hours: open daily from 9 am to 5 pm.
- Admission: 300 yen per adult, 150 yen for over 65s, and free for under 12s
The Kyû Furukawa Teien garden
This garden was originally the Western-style dark stone house of a Meiji era (1868-1912) politician, Mutsu Munemitsu. A Western-style garden was later created by an Englishman, Josiah Conder (1852-1920), but it is also accompanied by a traditional Japanese garden. This very modern mix specific to the beginning of the Taisho era (1911-1926) is what makes this unique place so special.
- Hours: open daily from 9 am to 5 pm.
- Admission: 150 yen for adults, 70 yen for over 65s, and free for children.
Around the station
Shimofuri Ginza is a large shopping arcade located a 5-minute walk from Komagome Station. Since 1956, in this 250-meter-long gallery, 58 shops have been selling everything you need to ensure your subsistence: fishmongers, butchers, greengrocers, bakeries, restaurants, cafes, ... it is a very lively and endearing place because of borrowing of nostalgia.
In the Somei Reien cemetery, the most beautiful are all the cherry trees that bring the place to life every spring.
Cherry trees of the famous and popular Somei Yoshino variety, whose blooms make Japan famous all over the world, were first created in the village of Somei, now a district of Tokyo.
- To read: Varieties of cherry trees in Japan
Namely, since 2013, there are no more "Midori no Madoguchi" ticket sales spaces, for this, it is to the next station that you have to go, Sugamo.
Discover the Yamanote, Tokyo's iconic subway line:
- Tokyo station
- Nippori Station
- Uguisudani station
- Ueno Station
- Akihabara Station
- Kanda Station
- Shimbashi Station
- Hamamatsucho Station
- Tamachi Station
- Ebisu Station
- Harajuku Station
- Shinjuku Station
- Shin-Okubo Station
- Takadanobaba station
- Ikebukuro Station
- Otsuka Station
- Tabata station