Walking Through Ginkgo Leaves at Waseda Campus — Waseda University, Shinjuku Ward Tokyo, A Late November Afternoon

Exit Waseda Station on Tokyo Metro's Tozai Line, climb the gentle slope, and you'll reach Waseda University's Waseda Campus. It had rained the day before and the sky was thick with…

Tokyo · Waseda University

Exit Waseda Station on Tokyo Metro's Tozai Line, climb the gentle slope, and you'll reach Waseda University's Waseda Campus. It had rained the day before and the sky was thick with clouds, but turning one corner revealed a single ginkgo tree standing fully golden between the buildings. On an ordinary alley where power lines crisscross in a tangle, one tree transforms the entire street's color. When searching for autumn foliage spots in Tokyo, people usually think of Meiji Shrine Outer Garden or Showa Memorial Park first, but university campuses have far fewer crowds and no entrance fees.

A large ginkgo tree fully turned yellow stands between buildings at the end of a narrow alley — The alley leading to campus. Fallen leaves had already piled up at the base of the tree.

A Golden Ginkgo Path, Perfect With Coffee in Hand

What I loved most about this campus wasn't the grand buildings, but the simple act of walking. With a coffee—disposable cup or mug, didn't matter—I slowly traced the ginkgo avenue back and forth, and that was the entire afternoon, and it was perfect. When the wind picked up, leaves would flutter down, and the dry crunch beneath my feet was satisfying. The distinctive smell of ginkgo fruit was milder than expected—the trees lining the campus seemed to be mostly male trees that don't produce fruit. Benches were scattered along the path, so you could sit anywhere.

An afternoon view of the campus path with yellow ginkgo trees lining both sides and open blue sky — When the clouds briefly parted. Days when yellow and blue sit this close together are rare.

Ginkgo trees lined up in front of a brick building, viewed from below, with one student sitting on a bench — Except for one student on a bench, this section had no other people.

Haruki Murakami Library — The Quietest Building on Campus

Follow the ginkgo path deeper into campus and you'll find old brick buildings on your left and on your right, a white building with wooden lattice canopy extending diagonally outward. This is Waseda University's International House of Literature, commonly called the Haruki Murakami Library. Designed by architect Kengo Kuma, the wooden lattice curves like waves, flowing down the building's wall from the outside. You could easily miss it from the street, so look up at the eaves on the right.

A campus alley with yellow ginkgo trees on the left and the wooden lattice canopy of a white building extending on the right — Ginkgo trees on the left, International House of Literature on the right. Climb the stairs visible at the end to reach the main campus center.

An asphalt alley covered in fallen leaves with stairs at the end, yellow ginkgo trees and white building on both sides — The same path from the front. The yellow specks scattered on the ground are entirely ginkgo leaves.

Wooden lattice canopy structure extending diagonally along the white building's wall — This lattice structure wraps around the building's corner and extends to the entrance.

The entrance sign sits low, nestled in shrubbery. "村上春樹ライブラリー / The Haruki Murakami Library". With no prominent signage, first-time visitors find themselves passing by, then having to double back.

A metal sign reading 'Village Haruki Library The Haruki Murakami Library' set low among shrubbery — A sign half-buried in vegetation. Fallen ginkgo leaves cover the ground below it.

A tunnel-shaped metal arch structure against a white wall and a glass door entrance below — The entrance. Passing through the tunnel structure already changes the atmosphere before you reach the door.

Inside, a staircase appears immediately, with bookshelves covering both walls. A wooden arch frame embraces the stairs, extending down to the lower floor. The books aren't organized by genre but by feeling—categories like "Loves Animals" or "Everyday Mysteries". The space inside was quiet enough to hear footsteps, with a couple of people sitting on the stairs reading. Despite being a popular photo spot, everyone moved silently.

Looking down at the wooden bookshelf wall from the stairs, books in each section and small white figurines placed on the shelves — A small white figurine sits in each shelf compartment. There's a pleasure in finding them all.

A wide wooden staircase with bookshelves entirely covering both sides, viewed from below looking up — The stairs themselves function as reading spaces. Reading while sitting isn't discouraged.

Multiple layers of wooden arches stacked and narrowing inward to form a tunnel-like ceiling structure — The ceiling. The arches layer inward, narrowing progressively.

Descending to the basement, through a glass wall you can see "Author's Study"—his work desk, desk lamp, a shelf packed with records, and a turntable with amplifier. You can't enter beyond the glass; you can only look in from outside. The glass reflection is heavy, so photographs don't turn out well—it's better to just look with your eyes for a while.

A study space visible beyond glass, with a shelf displaying record jackets and a desk, turntable on the right — Record jackets fill an entire wall. Many jazz albums were on display.

An arched informational sign reading 'Author's Study 村上さんの書斎' reflected in the glass wall with the interior space — The sign. Below it, the wooden handle has "PUSH" written on it.

On one wall, small illustrations were displayed with work titles attached. Beneath a gray cat: "Fluffy", next to it a peanut illustration, then another title. Picture book and short story titles arranged like stickers across the wall—it takes only minutes to scan the entire collection.

A gray cat illustration on a white wall with a label reading 'Fluffy' below it, and a peanut illustration below that — "Fluffy". A title from his picture book about cats.

The basement café is called Orange Cat. It's run by students, and when you order, you receive an orange number tag. A white number 4 printed on a palm-sized paper tag. I didn't ask whether it was a table number or order number.

An orange square tag resting on a palm with the white number 4 printed on it — My number 4 tag. The worn edges show this is a well-used item rotated through many hands.

Coffee arrives in a gray mug. The mug bears the inscriptions "Orange Cat ORANGE CAT" and "THE WASEDA INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF LITERATURE". The taste was low in acidity and rich, stronger than the Tokyo café average. The price was in the hundreds of yen range, but I don't remember exactly—the menu is posted on the counter, so check there. Taking this coffee outside and walking the ginkgo path again was the day's highlight. The indoors are quiet, which is wonderful; outside, the leaves are falling, which is also wonderful.

A gray mug engraved with 'Orange Cat ORANGE CAT' being held in hand, with wooden bookshelves in the background — Orange Cat's coffee. I spent a long time admiring just the mug.

The Theatre Museum — A Single Tudor-Style Building

Going up the stairs from the library, you suddenly encounter what looks like an English countryside building: the Tsubouchi Shoyo Memorial Theatre Museum. Half-timbered exterior with red tile roof and Latin inscribed above the entrance: Totus Mundus Agit Histrionem (all the world's a stage). A Christmas tree stood in the front courtyard, with banners for "Sino-Japanese Theatre Exchange Exhibition" and "Yoshiya Kitaoji Exhibition". Exhibitions change with each run, so check before visiting.

A white building with red tile roof and half-timbered tower, with one person photographing from the front — This angle appears first as you climb the slope.

The front of the Theatre Museum in a U-shape with a half-timbered tower and columned portico at the center — The building wraps around the courtyard in a U-shape. The Latin inscription above the entrance is visible.

A vertical view of the Theatre Museum's front facade with a Christmas tree before the entrance and exhibition banners — A Christmas tree before the entrance. It's only late November, but they've already set it up.

Before Okuma Hall — The Main Street and Access

Continue beyond the theatre museum and the main street of campus appears. A clock tower stands at the far end, and ginkgo trees line both sides of the street. This section's ground was entirely covered in yellow. Around 4 PM, as the light lowered, the brick buildings and yellow leaves became equally drenched in color.

Getting here is straightforward. From Exit 3b of Waseda Station on Tokyo Metro's Tozai Line, it's a 5-minute walk including a gentle uphill climb toward the main gate. From JR Takadanobaba Station, it's about a 20-minute walk, so a bus or one stop on the Tozai Line would be better from there. The campus is open without gates, requiring no separate admission procedure, and it's proper not to enter lecture halls—those are student and staff spaces. The coordinates of photographed locations are marked on the map below.

A clock tower visible in the distance between ginkgo trees on both sides, two people walking on a wide street covered with fallen leaves — The main street. The structure visible at the end is Okuma Hall's clock tower.

Three people walking on a campus boulevard thickly covered in fallen leaves, with the clock tower ahead — Despite being a weekday afternoon, the campus was this quiet.

A brick clock tower visible through yellow ginkgo trees and dark evergreens under an overcast sky, with a fallen-leaf-covered plaza — A single dark evergreen in the center provides balance among the yellows.

Okuma Hall appears larger than expected when viewed from near below. The brick surface shows signs of age with uneven coloring, and the clock face uses Roman numerals. A security guard stood in the plaza before it, with more passing students and neighborhood residents than tourists.

A brick clock tower viewed from below, with Roman numeral clock and spire, yellow ginkgo tree on the left — The tower's top. The belfry section flares open like a crown.

The complete view of Okuma Hall and its front plaza, with three arched entrances and people passing through — Okuma Hall's complete front facade. Three arches frame the entrance.

In a grassy area beside the hall stands a bronze statue of Shigenobu Okuma. In academic robes and holding a scroll, it became a silhouette as the sky turned pink at dusk. Behind it, construction barriers were set up—various parts of campus are under construction, limiting available photo angles.

A bronze statue in academic robes standing against a sunset sky, with modern buildings behind and construction barriers and cranes visible — The statue of Shigenobu Okuma. Construction barriers and cranes are visible behind it.

A tall brown brick building with closely spaced vertical fins viewed from below, with an almost-bare ginkgo tree in front — A high-rise lecture building on campus. The ginkgo tree here has already lost most of its leaves.

Passing by, through a courtyard window I could see the student dining hall. Students were scattered at long wooden tables, eating and chatting. I heard there's a dining option open to visitors on campus, but the timing was awkward so I didn't go in. If you visit around lunch, you can grab an affordable meal here.

Inside a student dining hall visible through glass, with students eating at long wooden tables, a bicycle parked nearby — The student dining hall viewed from the courtyard. A bicycle is parked nearby.

Okuma Garden — After Ginkgo Comes Maple

Behind the hall, the Okuma Garden appears. The colors shift here. Instead of ginkgo's yellow come the oranges and reds of maple foliage. Brick-paved walking paths curve gently, with stone lanterns and trimmed shrubs arranged in a Japanese garden style. The scale isn't large—a full loop takes about 15 minutes. The grass had already turned winter-brown and was parched, with a few people sitting to rest.

A brick walking path through a garden mixing red maple and evergreen foliage, with a large stone lantern on the right — The walking path near the garden entrance. The maples here were at peak color.

A large stone lantern next to a moss-covered tree, with lit windows of a brick building visible in the background — One stone lantern is quite substantial. This was taken as lights began coming on in the building behind.

The clock tower as seen from the garden. This angle through the autumn foliage was the most beautiful on campus.

A brown angular building beyond a parched yellow lawn, with red maples and pine trees in the foreground — People resting on the lawn. Winter grass had already turned brown.

A large curved building beyond the garden receiving sunset light at its upper edge, with a pond and pine trees below — The west end of the garden. Only the top of the large curved building caught the sunset light.

Thoughts After the Visit

Timing: This visit was late November. The ginkgos had passed peak and leaves carpeted the ground; the Okuma Garden maples were perfect. To see ginkgo leaves still on trees, mid-November is safer.
Route: Waseda Station on the Tozai Line → International House of Literature (Murakami Library) → Theatre Museum → Main Street and Okuma Hall → Okuma Garden. It took about two and a half hours of slow walking.
Murakami Library: Operating hours and entry procedures (including reservation requirements) change, so check the official website before visiting. The basement Orange Cat Café is student-run.
Etiquette: This is a school, not a tourist destination. It's considerate not to point cameras into lecture halls where students are studying. Some campus areas are under construction with barriers.
Weather: That day, a single coat was sufficient during daylight, but the wind turned cold after dark. If you plan to see the garden too, a light scarf is worth bringing.

Sitting on a garden bench after finishing my coffee, I thought I would have stayed longer if I'd drunk from a real mug instead of a disposable cup. Next time I'll drink the café coffee inside, then step outside with my hands in my pockets and just walk.