The Tokyo Metropolitan Koto Ward incinerator plant. The plant is the biggest in Tokyo and has three furnaces with total capacity of 1,800 tons processing a day. Heat produced here is provided to the tropical garden, two swimming pools and a senior citizens home in the same compound. (Hiroshi Chida / S&S)
The Tokyo Metropolitan Koto Ward incinerator plant. The plant is the biggest in Tokyo and has three furnaces with total capacity of 1,800 tons processing a day. Heat produced here is provided to the tropical garden, two swimming pools and a senior citizens home in the same compound. (Hiroshi Chida / S&S)
At the center of the garden are a fountain and a cascade. (Hiroshi Chida / S&S)
The giant lotus "Victoria," native to the Amazon in Brazil, grows big enough for a child to stand on it. (Hiroshi Chida / S&S)
A mother takes her children around inside the tropical garden during their summer vacation. (Hiroshi Chida / S&S)
Torch Ginger, native to Southeast Asia, can grow to 18-20 feet with leathery 3-foot-long leaves that are dark green. ()
Yumenoshima Tropical Plant Dome is one of Tokyo’s top indoor botanical gardens, with more than 1,000 species of tropical and subtropical plants.
The garden was built in 1988, using heat produced at an adjacent incinerator plant. The two-story indoor garden’s temperature stays a constant 77 degrees throughout the year.
Though the temperature is maintained throughout the year, the plants know the seasons, said Tadashi Ichikawa, an official of the garden. When the time comes, he said, the flowers know to bloom.
The plants have unique shapes and colors and are gorgeous, he said, noting that the garden solely houses plants from a tropical rain forest.
The facility has a small movie theater and shows films introducing the plants and how they affect our environment.
The tropical garden also has a restaurant and a small shop where people can buy and enjoy tropical foods and fruits.
The garden is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on Mondays and Dec. 29-Jan. 3.
The admission price for adults is 250 yen and for children, 100 yen. It is located at 3-2 Yumenoshima, Koto-ku, Tokyo.
For information, call 03-3522-0281.
It is accessible from the JR Keiyo Line to Shinkiba Station and then a 10-minute walk.
