Walks in the Tokyo Area: Yakushi-ike Park

BASIC INFORMATION

• Name: Yakushi-ike Park Walk
• Location: Machida, Japan
• Distance: 2.5 miles (5.2 km)
• Elevation Gain: 339 feet
• Time: 1-2 hours
• Difficulty: Easy
• More Information: 30 Day Hikes Near Tokyo

Google Earth Map of the Trail

Directions

Yakushi-ike Park is located just outside of Tokyo.  It is most easily reached by car, but there is plenty of bus options to access park from various subway stations in Machida.

Parking

At Yakushi-ike Park there is a large parking area that has free parking if staying for under an hour.  For every hour over this time there is a 200 yen fee.

Narrative

April is cherry blossom viewing season in Japan where people travel to various parks and mountains to view the scenery.  I recently took a walk at a park that I heard was a nice place to visit for cherry blossoms just outside of Tokyo in Machida.  The location is called Yakushi-ike Park and it did turn out to be a nice place to enjoy cherry blossom viewing.  From the parking lot I walked past a busy cafe area to hike up to the top of a small hill:

On the top of the hill I could see a few people having picnics and enjoying the scenery.  From the top of the hill and throughout the park there are trails that go in all different directions, so it has a bit of a choose your own adventure feel.  I decided to take a trail that led north down the hill:

On this section of the park I could see a few of the vegetable gardens planted around the park:

I then came to a trail intersection that led to the Yakushi-do temple:

This temple is believed to have been made possibly as late at the 11th century.  The temple is famous for showing a picture of a tiger for one month during the year of the tiger.  Since I visited in a year that was the tiger I did not get to see the picture.  However, I did enjoy seeing the elaborate wood working all around the temple:

From the temple I followed a trail that led to this bell:

From the bell I then followed a road through a nice neighborhood that took me down the hill towards the lower area of the park:

Once I reached the lower area of the park I found a number of ponds that due to it being early spring, had not been completely full of water.  Once the late spring and summer rains return these pools will be full of water again:

As I walked around the small ponds I was able to see some nice cherry blossoms:

From the small ponds I followed the trail for a short distance until I noticed this large sculpture.  I have no idea what it means, but it did have a small bell underneath it:

After checking out the sculpture I continued to follow the trail to where it next reached a large pond with a nice bridge going across it:

From the large pond I next followed a trail over to view some historic Japanese homes that had been moved into the park for people to see:

Below is the first of the two homes I was able to visit in the park.  The home was built in the 17th century by the Nagai family in the nearby Tama Hills.  In 1975 it was moved to the Yakushi-ike Park:

The interior of the home showed how Japanese over a 100 years ago used to live:

After exploring the house I continued to follow the trail to where it came to a small pool with a trickling waterfall:

Inside the small pool there was Japanese koi fish to see:

From the pool the trail follows a small creek towards the second traditional Japanese house:

After a short walk I reached the second house which was a little bigger than the first one I visited because it was once home to a doctor from the Ogino family that used to see patients at the house:

From the house the trail then came back to the opposite end of the large pond I had seen before:

From here I followed a trail that ascended up a small farming valley:

In the valley there was a small creek powering a water mill:

Here is a closer look at the mill:

Here is what the inside of the mill looked like:

After the mill I followed the trail back to where I began my hike and all along the way I made sure to enjoy the cherry blossoms:

Conclusion

Yakushi-ike Park is a nice park to go for a walk and explore its rolling hills and ponds, especially during the annual cherry blossom season.  For those that like longer hikes there are even options to expand a walk here into nearby parkland in the neighborhood.  With that said Yakushi-ike Park is probably not worth a special trip from Tokyo to visit considering similar walking options in the city.  However, for anyone finding themselves in the Machida area, Yakushi-ike Park is well worth spending an hour or two to check out.