Yume-no-Shima Tropical plant dome in Tokyo

[palmfriend]

Hello everyone,

it came with a business trip to Tokyo I came back from yesterday, that I got a three/four-hour window for myself

on the first day (11/1). Asking myself "What to do? "-that makes sense- I pulled up some info about

a tropical plant house from the internet but didn`t get some real results about what I could expect or not.

However, telling myself "If I don`t try, I will never know!" - so I gave myself a push and went there...

After a short walk from the station (Shin-Kiba) I reached the park and was welcomed by this beautiful...

...Canary Date Palm (best regards to Kris )

..and after a few more minutes...

...the dome appeared and my expectations raised up a little.

After paying about U$2,50 entrance fee and putting my bag and jacket in a locker, I entered the inner area...

(At this moment I have to warn you because this tour will take a while - I`ve got plenty of pictures to show.... -

so, if you going to join, take a seat and enjoy the show!)

At first you don`t see that much except those farns, some smaller plants and flowers.

Beautiful...

a Giant Bamboo in the corner...

...a young Blechnum gibbum...

a Cattleya...

...and a beautiful looking Begonia "Orange Rubia".

After that the tensions raised slowly...

...a very familar Arenga engleri and...

...and a beautiful Cyclanthaceae.

And then I was stunned for the first time...

...

...well, I know that kind of trunk pretty well and I started to look up...

...wow...a real Cocos nucifera with...

...coconuts on it!

While looking for a good position to get the whole tree in the frame...(which was not possible),

...I found a spindle palm and a Licuala triphylla.

Then I moved on and after a few more steps, I almost couldn`t believe what I saw...

...yes, no plastic...real ones..

... I couldn`t get enough of them...

Look at these colors...

...unbelievable!

Those two and half dollars were already paid off at this moment but the "show" went on...

 

[palmfriend]

 

part two:

After following this narrow path...

..another trunk appeared...

...a beautiful tree from Okinawa...

... a pretty tall Satakentia.

Just a few feet away...

...an Alexander palm.

Look at the trunk`s base...

...my shoe as a scale... I was really impressed!

Just moving around a little bit more...

...the next "800 pound gorilla" - this time a Roystonia,...

.. and another one.

Getting slowly a stiff neck from looking up all the time...

...like a this flowering Alexander palm, I forced myself to look down...

...dozens of seedlings...

This place is probably a paradise for Alexander palms, young ones all around...

Ok, to take a short break...

..red ginger and...

...a beautiful Hellconia.

Ok, let`s go back to the topic.

A young Clinostigma savoryana...

...the nice trunk of a taller one.

The leaves are a bit short but I was glad that those were there.

While slowly moving to the exit of that area, I recognized...

...one of my favorite trees, an Artocarpus altilis.

On the way out there were plenty of those...

...Pandanus Boninensis (they are everywhere in Okinawa, too).

Ok, a final impression from inside...

..before moving the potted palm section...

Hold on, please.

 

[Palm Tree Jim]

Some great pictures!

Thanks for sharing.

[palmfriend]

part three:

a Chambeyronia macrocarpa,...

...a Latania lontaroides,...

...a beautiful Licuala grandis.

I had to put up a second photo...

Finally, outside the dome but still inside the building...

...a Livistonia chinensis var. boninensis,...

an interesting Phoenicophrium borsigianum and finally...

...an Adonidia merrillii. (as just a few examples..., if I mixed something up, I am sorry)

Ok, thank you for your time and following me on this little tour.

I just thought I had to share this - so, when you come to Tokyo one day -

you should pay this place a visit.

Saying goodbye...

...to Mount Fuji/Fuji-san and heading back home to Okinawa...

Thank`s again and -

best regards

 

[bgl]

This is fascinating!  Thank you for posting these great photos. I had no idea that there was a place like this in Tokyo. I was there a couple of weeks ago (and visited Odaiba, not far from it), and would have loved to visit. But I'll be back in Tokyo and will definitely visit it then. What's the easiest way to get there? From Tokyo Station or Shimbashi?

[palmfriend]

7 minutes ago, bgl said:

This is fascinating!  Thank you for posting these great photos. I had no idea that there was a place like this in Tokyo. I was there a couple of weeks ago (and visited Odaiba, not far from it), and would have loved to visit. But I'll be back in Tokyo and will definitely visit it then. What's the easiest way to get there? From Tokyo Station or Shimbashi?

Thank you very much!

Take the JR-train from Tokyo station, it is just a short ride, three or four stations to Shin-kiba.

There is a connection from Haneda as well, you have to change trains just once.

best regards

 

[bgl]

Thanks a lot! JR train from Tokyo Station is easy enough, and I have made a note of that.

Aloha and arigato,

Bo-Göran

[Neil C]

What a great little place!

 

Regards Neil

[BPK Palm Addict]

I wish I had found this place when I used to go to Japan on business. 

[Monòver]

Thanks for show us this photos!!!

[cagary]

Established in 1988, so at least some of those palms have around 28 years of growth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yumenoshima_Tropical_Greenhouse_Dome

[Dave-Vero]

Impressive.  I was happy enough, recently, to spot Trachycarpus in traditional gardens and yards--lots of them in smaller towns and rural areas.  The tall ones in the woods at Koishikawa Korakuen all seemed carefully trimmed of dead leaves.  This is a small pottery museum at Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture.  

[gyuseppe]

I never get tired of seeing pictures

[Dave-Vero]

A couple of happy Trachycarpus from the tour bus.  This was near the Ouchi-Juku preserved post town, Shimogo.  

[JT in Japan]

Great report, Lars. I've never been there myself, but it's not far from the office, so I'll make a trip soon. Cheers,
JT

[palmfriend]

On 2016/11/4 12:54:59, Palm Tree Jim said:

Some great pictures!

Thanks for sharing.

You are welcome! Thank you for joining this long tour.

best regards

On 2016/11/4 13:15:25, bgl said:

This is fascinating!  Thank you for posting these great photos. I had no idea that there was a place like this in Tokyo.

Me neither. It doesn`t seemed to be pushed on the internet. It came out in a list of parks, when I googled it but even then

I just picked up the most promising one and got lucky. I will definitely go back there one day because I am sure I have

just scratched the "tip of the iceberg" of what is grown there. I was there for more then two and a half hours but I think

it is worth the double of time.

best regards

On 2016/11/4 19:52:37, Neil C said:

What a great little place!

 

Regards Neil

Neil,

Thank you for joining! It is indeed not a big place, the whole dome is just about 1.500 square meters - but it is

amazing what can be grown in such a small area... It gives me hope when I will run out of space at my own garden.

best regards

On 2016/11/4 20:53:18, BPK Palm Addict said:

I wish I had found this place when I used to go to Japan on business. 

I am so glad that I have found it at all. But the best thing is that I can share my "discovery" on this forum with all of you almost

immediately - so, next time some of you comes to Japan, you will have a place to go...

best regards

On 2016/11/5 3:27:30, Monòver said:

Thanks for show us this photos!!!

I always enjoy pictures taken all over the world - so I am glad that I could give something back.

I will keep my eyes and ears open, maybe there is another "hidden place" like that somewhere else in Japan.

best regards

7 hours ago, cagary said:

Established in 1988, so at least some of those palms have around 28 years of growth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yumenoshima_Tropical_Greenhouse_Dome

Yes, I had that impression as well, when I checked some of the boards describing the dome and its history.

When I looked at the Satakentia, I indeed asked myself how old that one would be - and it is not really a fast grower

over here in Okinawa...

That there is an entry in wikipedia in English....it never occured to me. Thanks for link.

best regards

7 hours ago, Dave-Vero said:

Impressive.  I was happy enough, recently, to spot Trachycarpus in traditional gardens and yards--lots of them in smaller towns and rural areas.  The tall ones in the woods at Koishikawa Korakuen all seemed carefully trimmed of dead leaves.  This is a small pottery museum at Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture.  

 

Dave,

Thank you!

I often enjoy visiting the gardens and parks in Kyoto when my family and I are visiting relatives over there.

Gardening seems to be a serious "thing" in Japan, especially if it is an area with a shrine or tempel.

They are always very beautiful and well maintained.

best regards

2 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

I never get tired of seeing pictures

Thank you! I hope you liked it.

best regards

48 minutes ago, JT in Japan said:

Great report, Lars. I've never been there myself, but it's not far from the office, so I'll make a trip soon. Cheers,
JT

JT, thank you very much!

I was considering to let you know ahead but I really was not sure about what would be there at all.

So, asking you for taking off and probably getting disappointed afterwards... - no, I didn`t want that.

Better this way than the other, I thought.

Btw., Monday is closed and last time to enter is 4.00pm. (closing at 5.00pm.)

best regards

 

[Dave-Vero]

palmfriend, gardening is a high art in Kyoto.  Not that everything has to be so serious. 

In the Edo period, the Imperial Household in Kyoto ruled supreme in matters of taste, even if they had nothing like the Shogun's budget.  A garden with Imperial connections might have a lantern honoring the Virgin Mary, which was forbidden to anyone non-Imperial on pain of death.  That sort of protocol.  An in-fight movie (English title, The Magnificent Nine) featured an ambitious young tea farmer from near Sendai who had not gotten any recognition for his tea in Edo, so he went on to Kyoto and came back with an elegant letter of endorsement for his product from the Emperor's people (I suspect a bit like the system in Great Britain).

[jardinierpalmiertrat]

Thanks you for this post, it's a very amazing greenhouse!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Las Palmas Norte]

It reminded me (on a much lesser scale) of the Bloedel Conservatory. When I lived on the mainland I used to visit periodically to brighten a dreary PNW winter day.

link>>> Bloedel Conservatory       Cheers, Barrie.

[Las Palmas Norte]

Here a YouTube video of the Bloedel Conservatory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YchRwq-6S5g

[palmfriend]

On 2016/11/7 18:34:45, jardinierpalmiertrat said:

Thanks you for this post, it's a very amazing greenhouse!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you!

Yes it really is and as written above, I need to go back there one day. I am sure I haven`t seen all of its treasures.

best regards