One of the most common stops on bonsai tours in Japan is Shunka-en, the garden of Kunio Kobayashi. By car or train it’s about 20 minutes east of Ueno Park, home to the Kokufu exhibit, in Edogawa.

I first visited Shunka-en, or “spring flower garden,” twenty-seven years ago. Since that trip, the garden has changed a lot. There are several new growing areas and more than double the number of trees, including these junipers and pines in the main courtyard.

Shimpaku juniper

Black pine

Shimpaku juniper

Black pine

Shimpaku juniper

The garden is jam-packed with trees, mostly conifers, in every direction you look.

A section of Shunka-en

Although most of the trees are presented for garden display (the facility is billed as a museum) there are a few prominent trees in development, including the maple grafting project below.

Thread grafts on a Japanese maple

Inside, visitors can enjoy several tokonoma set up with seasonal displays. On the day we visited, the display rooms featured a juniper, a chojubai, and a maple, among other species.

Japanese maple with crazy surface roots

Chojubai

Shimpaku juniper

Just outside the display rooms, a large collection of deciduous bonsai sat on the ground under the protection of the main building’s eves.

Japanese beech

Korean hornbeam

If you’d like to visit Shunka-en, you can plan your trip at the Shunka-en Bonsai Museum website.