Quel est l'arbre le plus vieux de Tokyo ?

Tokyo's claim to its oldest tree comes with more competition than most capitals. Sensoji temple in Asakusa has its own scarred ginkgo, tied by legend to the 12th century shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo and commonly cited at around 800 years old, older than Zenpukuji's tree. But that age rests entirely on oral tradition, and the tree lost its official Natural Monument status after 1945 fire damage. Zenpukuji's ginkgo carries an active national designation dating to 1926 and a growth-ring estimate that supports roughly 750 years, which is why guidebooks and Minato City's own tourism office call it Tokyo's oldest living tree while treating Sensoji's as a close, less formally verified second. Both trees share something else: they survived the same March 1945 firebombing raids that destroyed the buildings around them, because ginkgo wood resists catching fire in a way most other trees do not. Zenpukuji's tree also carries a legend of its own, said to have grown from a walking staff planted by the monk Shinran in 1229. Getting there: Azabu-Juban Station on the Namboku or Oedo line, then a seven minute walk.