Grutto Pass is also available as an “e-ticket” that can be purchased using a smartphone, but we will use the card version this time. When you are buying a Grutto Pass at a museum, you will also receive a brochure with information on all the facilities where you can use the pass. If you are ready to use the card, have it stamped with the expiration date on the location and fill in your name.
At the Toyo Bunko Museum, we entered the special exhibition (usual price at 900 yen for adults) only with Grutto Pass.

Currently on view, the special exhibition Flora and Fauna—East-West Exchanges of Illustrated Books (February 1–May 14, 2023) traces the exchange of knowledge between the East and the West through illustrated books and documents on animals and plants from different ages and places. One of the show’s main exhibits, Fauna Japonica (1833–50) and Flora Japonica (1835–70) compiled by the German physician Philipp Franz von SIEBOLD, introduce flora and fauna he encountered for the first time in Japan, such as a Japanese monkey, a sika deer, and a Japanese hydrangea. In the 19th century, multicolor printing technology was not widespread in Europe, and these illustrated books were hand-colored on printed line drawings.

Another attraction of the museum is the “Morrison Library” on the second floor. The space is filled from floor to ceiling with a part of the book and painting collection—consisting of some 24,000 items—that IWASAKI Hisaya purchased from Dr. G. E. Morrison, an Australian based in Beijing. It exudes the atmosphere of the “hall of knowledge,” indeed symbolizing the Toyo Bunko Museum.

During the special exhibition Flora and Fauna—East-West Exchanges of Illustrated Books, the first-floor exhibition room will showcase items related to significant historical figures, SAKAMOTO Ryoma, the heroic figure of the Bakumatsu period, and the botanist MAKINO Tomitaro, who inspired the main character of the recent NHK’s morning drama series Ranman, all from of IWASAKI Hisaya’s hometown Tosa (Kochi Prefecture).

Rikugien was built by YANAGISAWA Yoshiyasu, a daimyo feudal lord favored by the fifth shogun, TOKUGAWA Tsunayoshi. During the Meiji period, the park served as the villa of Mitsubishi’s founder, IWASAKI Yataro. Today, the garden is known for its weeping cherry trees blossoming in spring, but visitors can also enjoy azaleas in early summer and the colored leaves of maples and wax trees in fall.

We often find azaleas on roadsides, but thickly-grown pink azaleas blooming by a lushly-edged pond are especially lovely to look at and uplift our mood. Azaleas from different regions were planted on the hillside and along the paths.

Let’s climb up the largest hill at the garden, Fujishiro-toge. Once you are up on the 35-meter hilltop, you get to have a taste of hiking while in Tokyo. Behind the red, pink, and orange azaleas, differently sized trees and undulating lines of Daisensui pond create depth in the scenery.

The Western-style mansion—a stone building inspired by a British manor house—and French-style garden were designed by British architect Josiah Conder. In early summer, about 100 different kinds of roses and azaleas blossom against the backdrop of the refined appearance of the mansion with contrasting reddish rock walls and white window frames. The scenery is reminiscent of Europe.
The rose festivals held around May and October offer musical performances and a rose popularity contest, attracting many visitors.

The ambiance drastically changes once we pass the rose and azalea gardens, and a Japanese-style garden spreads in front of our eyes. Behind the Shinji-ike pond, a large stone lantern and rockwork of different sizes adorn the area, creating a graceful atmosphere.

For this trip, we visited one museum and two gardens. The total entrance fee would have been 1,350 yen, but we were able to enter them with just Grutto Pass.