Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden will raise its admission fee to 500 yen from the current 200 yen as early as mid-March to improve services and facilities.
Improvements will include extending opening hours and improving services aimed at the increasing number of foreign visitors.
Visitors to the park in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, doubled from fiscal 2013 to fiscal 2017 to reach about 2.5 million, according to the Environment Ministry, which has jurisdiction over the park.
Online travel site TripAdvisor ranked Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden the best tourist attraction in eastern Japan for foreign tourists. Foreigners are believed to account for about half of the park's visitors.
With the fee hike, the park plans to improve signs with information in multiple languages, provide free Wi-Fi services and enhance landscaping, among other improvements. Aging restaurants, rest areas and restrooms will also be renovated.
The Old Imperial Rest House, a national important cultural property, will be open to the public more often -- two to three times a week instead of the current twice a month.
In addition, the park's current closing time of 4:30 p.m. will be extended to 6 p.m. from March 15 to June 30 and from Aug. 21 to Sept. 30, and to 7 p.m. from July 1 to Aug. 20, to allow visitors to enjoy summer evenings.
In consideration of families and repeat visitors, the current 50 yen admission for primary and middle school students will be free. The "annual passport" special ticket for adults will remain 2,000 yen.
"We believe visitors will accept the fee hike because it is being done to improve services and facilities," a ministry official said.
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