Nikko Botanical Garden

The Nikko Botanical Garden ( 日光植物園 Nikkō Shokubutsuen ? , 26 acres, 10.5 hectares, 104,490 m²) is a botanical garden operated by the Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo , and located at 1842 Hanaishi, Nikkō, Tochigi , Japan, on rolling terrain with streams and ponds at 647 meters above sea level. It is open daily except Mondays during the warmer months; an admission fee is charged. The garden was established in 1902 as a branch of the Koishikawa Botanical Garden , Tokyo, to specialize in the study of alpine plants . It was first located near Toshogu Shrine , but in 1911 moved to its current site, and in 1950 enlarged to include part of the Tamozawa Goyotei garden, a summer house of Japan's royal family. Today the garden contains about 2,200 species (130 species of pteridophytes , 70 species of gymnosperms , and 2,000 species of angiosperms ), with good collections of temperate trees and shrubs, including 22 of the 24 indigenous Japanese Acer species, more than 10 species of Japanese Prunus , and 80 rhododendron species. Many herbaceous species are grown beneath the trees, as well as more specialized collections in rockeries, bog gardens, and a fern garden (about 60 species). The rockeries contain about 100 species of Japanese alpine plants, together with plants from the Himalayas and Korea .