Society

Shinjuku Gyoen national park to sell entrance tickets online

Nov 27 (Japan Today) - Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, one of Tokyo's largest and most popular parks, will start selling entrance tickets online later this week ahead of next year's Olympics with an eye on cutting queuing time, the Japanese government said Tuesday.

With tickets currently only available at park gates, waiting times can be more than an hour during busy periods such as the cherry-blossom viewing season in spring.

Starting Thursday, visitors will be able to buy tickets online with credit cards from private vendor "asoview!" and enter the park using the QR codes sent to them. The park's general admissions rate is 500 yen.

From late February next year, the park will also offer cashless payments service at the gate on a trial basis, allowing visitors to use credit cards, e-money cards such as the Suica prepaid card, or smartphone-based payments using QR codes.

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