A perfect place to see the beauty of a mountain valley filled with spring water, Shimazaki was a popular destination to relax among feudal lords who enjoyed prose and poetry in the Edo period. Tsunatoshi, the Hosokawa clan’s 5th generation and 3rd lord of the Kumamoto domain, built a vacation home here called “Ochaya,” but one day he drew a circle around the building and the surrounding land with a cane and gave the plot to Tsuzuki Danemon. Since then, the Tsuzuki family cherished the home and affectionally called it "Otsuesaki" (where the cane landed).
The name “Chokoen Garden” came from the poem “Chogetsu Koun” that Komeda Hamon, a middle-aged Chinese poet living in the Kumamoto domain, wrote to describe by the scenery. The garden contains a large pond with stepping stones surrounded by hills, and beautiful rhododendrons bloom here from late April to early May. It has been designated by the city as a Historic Site along with the nearby Sokeien Garden.