Most of the gardens I’ve profiled in this category (and on this site in general) have been traditional Japanese style gardens or gardens dedicated to a particular bloom (like the iris garden outside Beppu). I’m going to break with “protocol” and write up a modern garden I discovered only a short walk from my home here in Tokyo.

You won’t see the Meguro Sky Garden from street level and truth be told, it’s quite easy to walk by. But if you follow signs for the elevators that lead you up to the greenery five stories above, you’ll emerge into a unique environment.

A green environment on top of the expressway

The Meguro Sky Garden was built over the looping Ohashi entrance ramp to the Shuto Expressway. The garden follows the slope of the ramp, stretching over 400 meters from the entrance to the top observation platform.

There is a small rice paddy at the very top of the garden

My visit occurred in January, not the ideal season in which to visit a garden, but the area is attractively landscaped. There are numerous benches and an occasional pavilion. Beds of flowers (mostly pansies) were the predominant color but some plum trees were already in bloom.

These plum blossoms were really early – they don’t usually bloom in mid January!

From halfway up the garden, you can see views of Mt Fuji on a clear day. At night, you can also get a lovely view of the city skyline.

No views of Mt Fuji but still a lovely skyline

The garden is free and open until 9pm at night. It’s easiest to access from Ikejiri-Ohashi Station, though you can also reach it by walking along the Meguro River from Nakameguro Station.