Revealing itself spectacularly at the bend of Van Praet Avenue in Laeken, the Japanese Tower, its dark red mass surmounted by a pagoda-shaped roof, is silhouetted against the sky. The garden that surrounds it is not an authentic Japanese garden, but takes its inspiration from one.

The Japanese Tower of Laeken and the garden were opened by King Leopold II in 1905.

The imposing base of the tower and its immediate surroundings were originally covered with stones, rocks and pebbles, as if it were a mountainous setting where torrents and cascades flow.

In the garden, the Japanese maple raises its imposing silhouette. Immense gingkoes overshadow ferns and bamboo. The Scots pines are trimmed and pruned in the Asian fashion. Many azaleas give the garden beautiful touches of colour. The honeysuckle at the entrance is trimmed into a spherical shape. Camellias and agapanthuses complete the picture.

The garden of the Japanese tower is maintained by the gardeners of Brussels Environment. Their mission is to restore all the vegetation.