Tokugawaen garden and the Tokugawa Art Museum
1 / 9Tokugawaen garden and the Tokugawa Art MuseumPhoto: Tomio344456 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Tap a photo to see it large. 9 photographs, every one credited.
The National Treasure Tale of Genji picture scrolls are on show 14–29 November 2026 (chapters 37 Yokobue and 49 Yadorigi II), so the Saturday 14 and 28 November calls can see them; 10 November cannot. Tokugawaen garden is 9:30–17:30, last entry 17:00, adult ¥300, and its 2026 calendar shows it open on 10, 14 and 28 November. Autumn colour is mid-November to early December in the official windows, so Saturday 28 November is the date for it; 10 November will be early. The Tokugawa Art Museum, 10:00–17:00 with last entry 16:30, lists an adult fee of ¥2,000 that varies with the exhibition, and closes Mondays. The 2026 night-opening dates for the garden are not confirmed.
- On a 4–6h ashore call our verdict is "One of the two" — rail in, then the garden or the museum, not both, and rail back. on 14 november choose the museum for the genji scroll; go straight there and be back at nagoya station by about 13:30.
- It is not only a photo stop: ieyasu's bequest, a wedding set from 1639, the tale of genji scrolls and a lord's retirement garden.
- Garden 9:30–17:30, last entry 17:00. Museum 10:00–17:00, last entry 16:30 — garden closed 2, 9, 16, 24 and 30 nov 2026 (its 2026 calendar). museum closed mondays (the next weekday if monday is a holiday). both open on 10, 14 and 28 nov.
- 4 hr 50 min door to door means a 2–3 hour stop ashore cannot hold it. Pick something closer instead.
Why Tokugawaen garden and the Tokugawa Art Museum is famous
Ieyasu's bequest, a wedding set from 1639, the Tale of Genji scrolls and a lord's retirement garden
Visit Nagoya and Aichi Now give Tokugawaen’s autumn colour as mid-November to early December; Meijo Park, by the castle, peaks mid to late November. The garden’s 2026 calendar closes it on 2, 9, 16, 24 and 30 November. At the Tokugawa Art Museum, a special exhibition runs to 15 November and an exhibition on Tokugawa Yoshichika runs to 13 December. The garden’s official site has moved to tokugawaen.aichi.jp.
The family that held Nagoya Castle kept its belongings. They are now in a museum on the site of a lord's retirement villa, with his garden beside it. On two of the three November calls, the Genji scroll is out of storage.
Tokugawaen began as the retirement villa that Mitsutomo, second lord of Owari, moved into in 1695. From 1889 it was the Owari Tokugawa home. The 19th head, Yoshichika, gave it to the city in 1931, air raids burned most of it in 1945, and it reopened in 2004 as a strolling garden around a pond, Ryusenko, with a drop of about 11 metres, a waterfall and a black gate of 1900 that survived the war. Its autumn colour runs from mid-November to early December, so Saturday 28 November is the date for it.
Next door, the Tokugawa Art Museum, opened by Yoshichika in 1935, holds the family's collection: more than 10,000 items, 9 of them National Treasures, with Ieyasu's own bequest at the core. Its most famous piece, the 12th-century illustrated Tale of Genji, comes out for a few weeks each November. In 2026 that is 14 to 29 November, which covers both Saturday Jade calls.
What he left at Sunpu is divided; Yoshinao's share becomes the core of the collection
Chiyohime, the shogun's daughter, marries Mitsutomo of Owari
Mitsutomo retires to the estate that becomes Tokugawaen
The Ozone site becomes the Owari Tokugawa home
Aonami Line to Nagoya, JR Chuo Line to Ozone and 10 minutes on foot. Walk the garden from 9:30 and enter the museum at 10:00. Allow about two and a half hours. Saturday 28 November gives you the Genji scroll and the best of the colour.
Things worth knowing
- Go on Saturday 28 November if you can: the Genji scroll is on show and the garden is in its colour window. On 10 November the scroll is not out and the colour will be early.
- The Genji display shows two rolls only, chapters 37 and 49. The museum says its next showing of the whole set is planned for 2035.
- Use the south exit at JR Ozone; it is 10 minutes on foot from there.
- The Me~guru sightseeing bus stops right outside. It runs Tuesday to Sunday; the 1-day pass is ¥500.
- Owari Tokugawa尾張徳川家 — The branch of the Tokugawa family that held Nagoya Castle, founded by Ieyasu's ninth son, Yoshinao.
- Gosanke御三家 — The three senior branch houses of the Tokugawa: Owari, Kii and Mito. Owari ranked first.
Tokugawaen garden and the Tokugawa Art Museum and your ship
Both pins on one map, so the distance is a fact rather than a feeling.
Where the 4 hr 50 min goes
Counted from the moment you step off the gangway. The hour before all-aboard is not in this bar; it is already set aside.
24 minutes each way is the measured figure for aonami line to nagoya 24 min, then jr chuo line to ozone, about 20 min, and 10 min on foot from the south exit; or city bus from stop 10 at nagoya station, about 30 min, not the optimistic one. If your ship is late, cut the 4 hr 2 min in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.
Questions people send us
Is the Tale of Genji scroll on show when my ship is in Nagoya?
In 2026 it is shown from 14 to 29 November: chapter 37, Yokobue, and chapter 49, Yadorigi (II). That covers the Norwegian Jade's calls on Saturday 14 and 28 November. It is not on show on Tuesday 10 November.
Are Tokugawaen and the Tokugawa Art Museum open on Tuesday 10 November 2026?
Yes. The garden's 2026 calendar lists 2, 9, 16, 24 and 30 November as closed, and the museum closes on Mondays. Both are open on 10, 14 and 28 November.
How do I get to Tokugawaen from Kinjo Pier?
Walk or take the shuttle, if one runs, to Kinjo-futo Station. Aonami Line to Nagoya (24 min, ¥360), JR Chuo Line to Ozone (about 20 min) and 10 minutes on foot from the south exit. About 1 hour 20 minutes each way by our estimate.
Routes that already include it
Each one is a finished day we have walked and timed, with this stop in it. Read the route rather than assembling it yourself.
What to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
See · ~4hNagoya Castle and the Hommaru Palace
The main keep is closed, so the visit is the Hommaru Palace, about 10 minutes on foot from the Main or East Gate, and the grounds.
See the detail →
See · ~3.5hAtsuta Jingu and the Kusanagi-kan sword museum
The shrine grounds are free; no official opening hours are published.
See the detail →
Eat · ~3.5hHitsumabushi at Atsuta Horaiken
Hitsumabushi is grilled eel on rice, and Atsuta Horaiken is the name for it.
See the detail →