Former Rest House of the Imperial Family, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Walking distance from Shinjuku-Gyoen Station, Tokyo, JAPAN

Important Cultural Property / Nationally Designated / Buildings

(Photo of Exterior by the Environmental Government of Japan,

http://www.env.go.jp/garden/shinjukugyoen/3_event/event_01.html)

Former Rest House of the Imperial Family was constructed in 1896 in Shinjuku Gyoen when Shinjuku Gyoen was one of the Imperial gardens. Now Shinjuku Gyoen is a national garden (park) open to the public, and the rest house is open for visitors, usually twice a month on Saturdays (For detailed schedule etc, see below).

Shinjuku Gyoen, a national garden (park), blends three distinct styles, Japanese Traditional Garden, French Formal Garden, and English Landscape Garden and is 144 acres (58.3 ha) in size with a circumference of 3.5 km. It is considered as one of the most important gardens.

Shinjuku Gyoen, in its history, was initially a garden privately owned by Feudal Lord Naito of the Samurai era. Once it was an imperial garden in 1900s, and then after WWII, it was redesigned as a national garden and now is open to the public.

Further information......

(Photo of Interior by the Environmental Government of Japan,

http://www.env.go.jp/garden/shinjukugyoen/3_event/event_01.html)

Links to the official websites

Official Visitor's Information - Former Rest House for the Imperial Family (in Japanese only)

Just to extract some from the Visitor's Info (as of May 2016) ...

Open:
The former rest house is usually open on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays 10:00 - 15:00, though there are some temporary closings. For the latest schedule, see below link or contact the office of Shinjuku Gyoen below.

Open/Close Calendar (Official, Japanese only) 

http://www.env.go.jp/garden/shinjukugyoen/3_event/event_01.html

Admission:
Admission for entry to the rest house is free, though for entry to the Garden (Shinjuku Gyoen) are JPY 200 (Adult) and JPY 50 (Child).

Notes:
No photoes are allowed inside the rest house.
Please also follow the instructions of the Garden below (in English).

Official Website of Visitor's Info - Shinjuku Gyoen (in English)(Available are Access map to the Garden, Map in the Garden, etc.)

Official Website of Shinjuku Gyoen (in English)(Photos of each season, details about the trees in the park, and more history etc.)

Contact Info. - Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Mail：SHINJUKU*env.go.jp. (Change * to @)
Phone (voice) : +81-3-3350-0152

Other National Treasure / Important Cultural Property in the district

State Guest House, Akasaka Palace