Traveling Info

Senganen, also called Isoteien, is a Japanese style landscape garden, which is beautifully located at the foot of a wooded hill along the coast near Kagoshima. The garden, which contains beautiful former residential buildings and Sakurajima as "borrowed scenery", belonged to the Shimazu, the family clan which ruled Kagoshima for almost 700 years until the end of Japan's feudal age in 1868. Next to the garden and included in the admission price is a small museum dedicated to the Shimazu Clan. The museum is housed in the former building of Japan's first Western style factory. How to get there Senganen can be reached by the "Kagoshima City View" bus, a circular bus line for tourists that runs every 30 minutes and stops at various tourist attractions and JR Kagoshima Chuo Station. Click here for map

Ritsurin Park (栗林公園, Ritsurin Kōen?) (栗林 means chestnut grove) is one of the most famous and most beautiful historical parks in Japan. The park is situated in the city of Takamatsu and is considered one of its main attractions. The park contains a tea house, various folk art and craft exhibits (including the Sanuki Folk Craft Museum), as well as various folk art and craft items for sale. A tour through the park generally takes one to two hours. There are various bridges, footpaths and small hills which offer a beautiful view of the park and the surrounding scenery, most notably Mt. Shuin (紫雲山, Shuin-zan?) at the western border of the park. The small lakes are filled with thousands of koi. History The buildings in the Park date back to the early 17th century. In 1625, the feudal lord of Sanuki, Ikoma Takatoshi (生駒高俊, Ikoma Takatoshi?), began construction of Ritsurin, specifically the building of a garden around the South Pond using the beautiful greenery of Mt. Shiun as a backdrop. Begi...

Koraku-en Garden (後楽園庭園, Kōrakuen Teien?), is a Japanese garden located in Okayama Prefecture. It is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, along with Kenroku-en and Kairaku-en. Korakuen was built in 1700 by Ikeda Tsunamasa, lord of Okayama. The garden's form almost had turned into the modern form in 1863. How to get there Korakuen stands 1.5 kilometers east of JR Okayama Station. In front of the station, take a streetcar bound for Higashiyama. Get off at the third stop, Shiroshita Station, from where Korakuen is a 5-10 minute walk. Hour and admission Open: Daily 7:30 to 18:00 (8:00 to 17:00 from October through March). Admission: 350 Yen. Free admission for seniors aged 65 and over. Click here for map Click here for gallery History In 1687, the daimyo Ikeda Tsunamasa ordered Tsuda Nagatada to begin construction of the Korakuen. It was completed in 1700, and has retained its original appearance down to the present day, except for a few changes by various daimyo. The Korakuen is o...

Kokoen is a recently constructed Japanese style garden, which was opened in 1992 on the former site of of the feudal lords' west residence (Nishi-Oyashiki). It consists of nine separate gardens designed in various garden styles of the Edo period. Among the gardens are the garden of the lord's residence which features a pond with waterfall, a tea garden where visitors can enjoy green tea in a tea ceremony house, a pine tree garden, bamboo garden and flower garden. How to get there Kokoen Garden is located just outside of Himeji Castle, a short walk west of the castle's main gate (Otemon Gate). From Himeji Station, it can be reached in a 20 minute walk or 5 minute bus ride along the broad Otemae-dori Street, which leads in a straight way from the station to the castle. How to get to and around Himeji Admission: 300 Yen Hours: Daily 9:00 to 17:00 (until 18:00 from July to August). Closed December 29 to January 1. Click here for map

Kenroku-en (兼六園, Six Attributes Garden), located in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, is an old private garden developed from the 1620s to 1840s by the Maeda clan, the daimyo who ruled the former Kaga Domain. Along with Kairaku-en and Koraku-en, Kenroku-en is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. It is open year-round during daylight hours and famous for its beauty in all seasons; an admission fee is charged. The garden is located outside the gates of Kanazawa Castle where it originally formed the outer garden, and covers 114,436.65 m² (over 25 acres). It began in 1676 when the 5th lord Maeda Tsunanori moved his administration to the castle and began to landscape a garden in this vicinity. This garden was, however, destroyed by fire in 1759. Its restoration was begun in 1774 by the 11th lord Harunaga, who created the Emerald Waterfall (Midori-taki) and Yugao-tei, a teahouse. Improvements continued in 1822 when the 12th lord Narinaga created the garden's winding streams with water drawn...

Saihō-ji (西芳寺, Saihō-ji?) is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple located in Matsuo, Nishikyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple, which is famed for its moss garden, is commonly referred to as "Koke-dera" (苔寺, "Koke-dera"?), meaning "moss temple", and is also known as "Kōinzan Saihō-ji" (洪隠山西芳寺, "Kōinzan Saihō-ji"?). The temple, primarily constructed to honor Amitabha, was first founded by Gyōki, and was later restored by Musō Soseki. In 1994, Saihō-ji was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto" History According to temple legend, Saihō-ji was constructed during the Nara Period by Gyōki, on the location of one of Prince Shōtoku's former retreats. The temple first operated as a Hossō temple dedicated to Amitabha, and was known as "Saihō-ji" (西方寺, "Saihō-ji"?), a homophone of the current name. The name was selected because Amitabha is the primary buddha of West...

The Katsura Imperial Villa (桂離宮, Katsura Rikyū?), or Katsura Detached Palace, is a villa with associated gardens and outbuildings in the western suburbs of Kyoto, Japan (in Nishikyo-ku, separate from the Kyoto Imperial Palace). It is one of Japan's most important large-scale cultural treasures. Its gardens are a masterpiece of Japanese gardening, and the buildings are even more important, one of the greatest achievements of Japanese architecture. The palace includes a shoin (building), tea houses, and a strolling garden. It provides an invaluable window into the villas of princes of the Edo period. The palace formerly belonged to the princes of the Hachijo-no-miya (八条宮) family. The Imperial Household Agency administers it, and accepts visitors by appointment. History The Katsura district of Kyoto has long been favored for villas, and in the Heian period, Fujiwara no Michinaga had a villa there. The members of the Heian court found it an elegant location for viewing the moon. Prince...

Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, Ryōan-ji? The Temple of the Peaceful Dragon) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. Belonging to the Myoshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism, the temple is one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site of the temple was originally a Fujiwara family estate. It eventually came into the hands of the Hosokawa clan branch of the Fujiwaras. Hosokawa Katsumoto inherited the residence, and lived here before the Ōnin War. Katsumoto willed the war-ravaged property to be converted into a Zen sect temple complex after his death. Later Hosokawa emperors are grouped together in what are today known as the "Seven Imperial Tombs" at Ryoan-ji. The burial places of these emperors -- Uda, Kazan, Ichijō, Go-Suzaku, Go-Reizei, Go-Sanjō, and Horikawa -- would have been comparatively humble in the period after their deaths. These tombs reached their present state as a result of the 19th cent...

Is a spacious Japanese style garden in southern Yokohama which exhibits a number of historic buildings from across Japan. There is a pond, small rivers, flowers and wonderful scrolling trails that make you think you are in Kyoto rather than Yokohama. The garden was built by Hara Sankei and opened to the public in 1904. Among the historic buildings exhibited in the park are an elegant daimyo (feudal lord) residence, several tea houses and the main hall and three storied pagoda of Kyoto's old Tomyoji Temple. How to get there From Yokohama Station (East Exit): About 35 minutes by bus number 8 or 125 to Honmoku Sankeien Mae. From there, Sankeien is another 5 minutes by foot. From Negishi Station (JR Keihin-Tohoku Line): About 10 minutes by bus number 54, 58, 99, 101 or 108 to Honmoku. From there, Sankeien is another 5-10 minutes by foot. Click here for map

(浜離宮恩賜庭園, Hama-rikyū Onshi Teien?) is a public park in Tokyo, Japan. Located at the mouth of the Sumida River in Chūō-ku, it was opened April 1, 1946. The park is a 250,165 m² landscaped garden surrounding Shioiri Pond, the park itself surrounded by a seawater moat filled by Tokyo Bay. It was remodeled as a public garden park on the site of a villa of the Shogun Tokugawa family in the 17th century. The garden is normally calm. Visitors can also enjoy refreshment at a teashop in Nakashima located in the middle of the pond in the garden that offers matcha and Japanese sweets in a tea-ceremony style. A peony garden, plum tree grove and cosmos fields have flowers for every season. Exhibitions falcon and Japanese goshawk traditional hunting techniques are demonstrated daily. How to get there Hama Rikyu can be accessed by boat from Asakusa and Odaiba. Alternatively, it is a 10-15 minute walk from JR Shimbashi Station or Shiodome Station on the Oedo Subway Line and Yurikamome elevated train. ...