Tokyo cultural tour attraction ~ University of Tokyo
The Hongo campus of the University of Tokyo is actually divided into two parts. Most of the people who go to visit come from the "Hongo San-chome" station, passing by the "Akamon" (Important Cultural Property), the "University of Tokyo Main Gate", the Ginkgo Avenue, and the Yasuda Auditorium, often overlooking the "College of Agriculture" at the other end.
If you get off at the "Dongdaemun" subway station, the first campus you will encounter is the "College of Agriculture". Walking into the campus, you will see tall and neatly arranged camphor trees on the left, and "Miyoshi Lecture Hall Annex", which looks like a vacation triangle cabin, arranged one by one. On the right side, the "Miyoshi Lecture Hall" is a work of the famous architect Shusaku Arakawa. The main structure is a circular hinoki wood, and the entire lecture hall is covered by a large glass wall. Through the contrast of glass and wood as building materials, it has a simple and soft style. Because of this "Miyoshi Lecture Hall" building, Shusaku Arakawa also won the 2002 Japan Architectural Society Works Selection Award.
On the other side, the "Miyoshi Lecture Hall Annex" looks like a vacation cabin and was jointly created by architect Taizō Hino and the Wood Materials Science Laboratory at the University of Tokyo. The roof, which seems to hang down to the bottom, is made of wooden pillars and deep brown creased copper sheets that dance towards the sky like a folding fan, and is connected to the hyperbolic paraboloid roof structure. This beautiful and three-dimensional architectural line is a must-see attraction every time I visit the College of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo.
In March 2015, in front of the beautiful building of "Miyabi Lecture Hall Annex", there was another touching story statue, which is the famous meeting place "Hachiko" in front of Shibuya Station. On March 8th, the 80th anniversary of his passing, he officially met with his owner, Dr. Ueno Hidesaburo. After Dr. Ueno Hidesaburo passed away suddenly in 1925, Hachiko still went to Shibuya Station every day for the next 10 years, waiting for Dr. Ueno's return. In order to reunite them, the staff of the University of Tokyo had this plan to build a bronze statue, and successfully raised more than 10 million yen to complete this task.
Entering from the main gate of the University of Tokyo, we are greeted by the Ginkgo Avenue. When the morning temperature drops to 8-10 degrees, the ginkgo trees start to turn yellow. On the streets of Tokyo, you can see rows of ginkgo trees turning yellow. The University of Tokyo becomes one of the best places to appreciate ginkgo in late autumn. Many people come here to take photos, paint, or take a walk with their children or dogs. It is a great place for relaxation. We arrived at the University of Tokyo on December 14th and missed the golden ginkgo trees, but we saw another scenic feature - the ginkgo snowstorm, like the cherry blossom petals falling in spring. The golden ginkgo leaves fell with the wind, creating another beautiful scenery.
At the end of Gingko Avenue is the "Yasuda Auditorium". Although many new buildings have been built in the campus of the University of Tokyo, similar to National Taiwan University, many historic buildings can still be seen, as well as many bronze statues, most of which are figures who have made academic contributions. After leaving the auditorium and going down the slope on the right, you will find the famous "Sanjuro Pond". Originally, this pond was the heart-shaped pond of the Maeda family's garden, the Yude Garden, and was renamed because of Soseki Natsume's novel "Sanjuro".
From late November to early December, the late autumn is the best season for Dongda Gingko. Walking from the main gate of Benxiangtong to the Andian Lecture Hall, although the distance is not long, each gingko tree is not only huge, but also has dense leaves. When looking up from under the tree, it is so dense that you can hardly see the sky, and the color of the leaves is golden to the point of being dazzling. Three years ago, when I accompanied my daughter on her graduation trip, I saw the emerald green gingko leaves, but this time my son saw the golden gingko leaves falling with the wind, and he exclaimed, "This trip is really worth it!"
Ginkgo is also the city tree of Tokyo, and there are ginkgo trees planted as roadside trees everywhere. Due to concerns about the unique odor emitted by ginkgo fruits when they bear fruit, only male trees are planted as new roadside trees. There are many historic roadside trees in the University of Tokyo campus, and this concept did not exist in the early days, so there is a unique odor floating in the golden scenery.
After reading my introduction, did you notice how beautiful the ginkgo trees on the campuses of the University of Tokyo and Waseda University are? Next time you plan to visit Tokyo in late autumn, don't forget to include a trip to admire the beautiful scenery. However, I also want to remind everyone not to enter the areas where classes are held on campus, so as not to disturb the students' learning.
📍Address: 7-3-1 Honcho, Bunkyo-ku
⏰Transportation Guide: To Honjo-3chome Station on Toei Oedo Line, Metro Marunouchi Line, and Metro Namboku Line, or to Higashi-ōjima Station on Toei Shinjuku Line.