Japanese Irises and Kimonos at Ninomaru Garden
Japanese Irises and kimonos! What a great combination for summer. I enjoyed this at the Ninomaru Garden of the Imperial Palace. Even with ominous clouds above, it was a great afternoon of flower photography.
The garden in the Ninomaru is lovely. Like the rest of the East Gardens, entering is free of charge. And it is open to the public except for Mondays, Fridays, and New Year’s.
The garden contains trees from every prefecture in Japan. It also has sunflowers and azaleas. There is a pond with carp. But, I went for the irises.
Japanese Irises are beautiful. The dark purple ones are especially easy to photograph on bright days. They don’t reflect too much light.
I went to Horikiri Shobuen to see them earlier in the morning. That left me wanting to see more, so I went to the East Gardens. I knew its Ninomaru Garden had them. There aren’t many, but the display is excellent. It is traditional.
While I was there, a group of people wearing kimonos came along. You can’t see it in these pictures, but there were quite a few. They kept moving, so it was hard to photograph them. With many of them in blue and purple they perfectly complemented the flowers.
All good things come to an end. That group soon left. With the threat of rain and me with no umbrella, I departed too. I don’t mind getting wet, but I didn’t want to take chances with my camera, which is only water-resistant. It’s not waterproof.
Are you a Japanese Iris fan? If you are, let me know and tell me where the best garden of them is in Tokyo. I’d like to see somewhere new. And I would like to see some more people wearing kimonos there.
The Ninomaru is a part of the larger East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. You can learn more about it here. It is a great place to spend an afternoon with a camera. If you are a flower lover, you’ll enjoy it. And it is in the center of the city.
Photo gear for Japanese irises and kimonos
Camera body: Fujifilm X-T3
Fujifilm Lenses:
- XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR
- XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R LM OIS
Rohan Gillett
Rohan has lived in Tokyo for 30+ years. He loves photography and plans to capture the entire city.
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External related websites:
- East Gardens of the Imperial Palace (official website)