Living in Chiba (the outskirts of Tokyo) you certainly get plenty chances to go to better parks than in the centralised Tokyo.

This weekend my partner and I took the fickle decision to stay on the regular commute train back to our home, all the way to the end of the line, another prefecture and completely not Tokyo, another city entirely: Mito.

It was quite a long journey and I was surprised that the train line went on for so long from the heart of Tokyo (well Ueno, which is semi central) all the way into another prefectural district.(the equivalent of crossing states in the US)

By the time we arrived, it was beginning to get a little dark, it is Autumn after all. A few of the larger parks were closed so we couldn't enter, but the sheer size of the National Park was huge.

We got round only a small section that was still remaining open, but the sunset and the purple half light of the dusk made for pleasurable viewing especially with all the leaves turning yellow, reds and golds.

Definitely will need to visit here again some time.

Website:
http://www.koen.pref.ibaraki.jp/park/kairakuen01.html