The bonsai class at Shunkaen

Why it is on the list

Shunkaen is the garden and museum of the bonsai artist Kunio Kobayashi, opened in 2002, with more than 1,000 trees.¹ Kobayashi has won the Prime Minister's Award at the Nippon Bonsai Sakufu-ten four times, the Kojuten first prize five times, and has worked on 16 Kokufu Prize winners; he trains apprentices from Japan and abroad at the garden.² The class starts with a short lecture and ends with a tree you have made yourself.³

It is a single hour that starts from the basics.³⁴ Anyone who wants to work on their own trees under Kobayashi himself should ask about the Sunday class instead: it runs from 10:00 to 17:00 at any hour you choose, and takes an annual membership, JPY 10,000 to join and JPY 20,000 a year.⁴

How to get it

Write to info@shunkaen-bonsai.com or call the museum at least four days ahead.³⁴ Classes run on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 10:00 and 14:00, for about an hour.³⁴ The class is JPY 12,000 a person before tax, paid in cash, and includes admission to the museum.³ The museum is closed on Mondays unless the Monday is a public holiday.⁵

From Koiwa station on the JR Sobu Line or Mizue station on the Toei Shinjuku Line, take Keisei bus 76 to Keiyo-guchi; the garden is three minutes on foot.⁵ There is parking for ten cars and one coach, not guaranteed.⁶

Discretion

The class is held while the museum is open to the public, from 10:00 to 17:00, so other visitors will be in the garden.⁵ The garden draws about 10,000 visitors from abroad each year.¹ Payment is in cash.³