Travel Tips & Trends

Kenroku-en Gardeners
Gardeners trim moss at Kenroku-en

Exploring Japanese Gardens

Japan's famed Golden Route—Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto—is the choice of many first-time travelers to this island nation. Kyoto offers many must-see stops for garden lovers, including the Zen garden at Ryoanji, built in 1480. In Tokyo, the Imperial Palace's East Garden is popular, and Ueno Park is especially worthwhile in spring for its avenues of blossoming cherry trees. Those who explore beyond the Golden Route will be rewarded by visits to the famous gardens in Kanazawa and Okayama.

On Honshu's western coast, the city of Kanazawa is known for its legacy of centuries-old crafts, including silk dying, gold leafing and inlay work. It is also the location of Kenroku-en, considered by many to be Japan's finest garden.

Heian Jingu garden, Kyoto

Kenroku-en means "Garden of Six Sublime Elements," in reference to the traditional six ideal elements of a landscape garden: spaciousness, seclusion, artistry, antiquity, abundant water and extensive views.

Developed by successive generations of the Maeda nobility, the 25-acre garden took two hundred years to construct, beginning in the early 1600s. It opened to the public in 1874.

As a "strolling garden," Kenroku-en is designed to be seen by walking rather than from a set viewpoint. Several mapped routes show off the garden's arched bridges, lakes and streams, teahouses and other structures, and secluded paths.

Koraku-en, another of Japan's most famous gardens, is in Okayama, a coastal city on Shikoku Island. Completed in 1700, the garden preserves much of its original design with an expansive lawn, waterfalls, groves of maples, shrines and ponds. Its notable features include decorative rice and tea plantations, and views of black-walled Okayama Castle.