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We hope you enjoy the following example from recent postings.
Garden Party Held for Major Donors at Koishikawa Botanical Garden
garden1On Monday, April 7, a cherry blossom garden party was held at UTokyo’s Koishikawa Botanical Garden hosted by The University of Tokyo Foundation (UTokyo Kikin) inviting those donors who had cumulatively donated more than 300 thousand Yen (about three thousand dollars) as well as their spouses and friends.
The Garden is open to the public every weekdays and weekends except on Mondays. Therefore, a Monday party for donors was an exclusive/special event. The Garden is known as one of the famous places in Tokyo for cherry blossoms and has many varieties of species including the most popular Somei-Yoshino. Fortunately most species were in full bloom on the day of the garden party. A trio of musicians played popular and classic music and the UTokyo Co-op opened souvenir stalls.
garden2Professor Jin Murata (Director of Koishikawa Garden), Professor Masaki Tateno ( the director of another UTokyo botanical garden in Nikko), and staff conducted guided tours of the premises in the morning and the afternoon.
garden3The Koishikawa Garden is the oldest botanical garden in Japan with its history of 330 years. It originated when the Tokugawa Shogunate opened its first medicinal herb garden in 1684. The Garden features “historic” plants such as the descendant of Sir Isaac Newton’s famous apple tree and the descendant of the vines which Gregor Mendel improved.
The University of Tokyo Foundation hosts the Koishikawa garden party for major donors every year during the cherry blossom season.
Photos and narrative were contributed by Mr. S. M. who attended the party.


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