Page 49 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

TOP GARDENS
3 IN JAPAN

Kenroku-en
One of Japan’s “three
great gardens,” this
expansive park is
equally breathtaking
in every season (p165).
Kairaku-en
Located in Mito, the
second of the “three
great gardens” is at its
most spectacular when
its 3,000 plum trees
blossom in February
and March.
Koraku-en
The last of the “three
great gardens,” this
picturesque stroll
garden in Okayama is
unusual for its spacious
Stroll Gardens lawns (p236).
The landscape comes to life
on a walk through one of
Japan’s stroll gardens, as
vistas are concealed and
revealed with every step.
Suizen-ji Jou-en (p274) is
one of the country’s finest,
while the garden of the
Katsura Imperial Villa
(p203) repli cates famous
Japanese landscapes. Tokyo’s
Rikugi-en Garden (p144) was
inspired by famous poems.

The undulating landscape
of the Suizen-ji Jou-en
garden in Kumamoto

Tea Gardens
To reach a teahouse for the tea ceremony,
you must first pass through a roji. Lined
with sweet-smelling moss, this garden
is designed to resemble a mountain trail,
leading from reality into the magical
world of the teahouse.
Head to the Kenroku-en
The secluded Garden (p165) or the Ise
surrounds of Shrine (p244) to take part
a teahouse in this unique ritual.

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