The
Quiet and Beauty of the Japanese GardenTea gardens, famous cherry trees and so much more
No place in the world has as many splendid Japanese gardens as Kyoto. Indeed, Kyoto Prefecture is home to most of the greatest examples of Japanese garden design. The Japanese garden, composed of stone, water and plants, is a place of serenity and beauty that perfectly communicates the stillness that lies at the heart of Japanese culture. The following gardens are particularly recommended for their design details, beauty and stillness. At each of these places the visitor will surely experience something special and lasting.
Shokado Garden
Shokado
is the name of the former residence of Shokado Shojo (1584-1639), a famous
calligrapher who was also a great tea ceremony master and poet. The original
villa was built in Otokoyama Takimotobo (located in Yawata City). It was
moved to its present place in the Meiji period (1868-1912). The garden consists of two sections. The inner garden has a tea room (used by Shokado Shojo) surrounded by an excellent karesansui garden (Japanese dry landscape garden) done in the style of Kobori Enshu (1579-1647). The outer garden is a grove made with 40 different kinds of bamboo and camellia trees (in bloom in March).
There is also a museum that has an interesting collection of things that belonged to Shokado Shojo. He is considered to be the person who came up with the idea of the lunch box now known as the “Shokado bento”, which is widely known all over Japan. He used a box used to hold seeds for stationery and then began to use the same kind of box to hold his lunch. There is a well-known restaurant at the villa overlooking the garden. Open: 9:00-17:00. Close on Mondays (or the next day if Monday is a national holiday).
Access: From the Keihan Yawatashi Stn., take Keihan Uji kotsu bus to the Oshiba bus stop (about 10 min.)
Choan-ji Temple
Choan-ji Temple was built to pray for Prince Shotoku’s (574-622) brother who departed on a dangerous mission to kill some nasty goblins. Today, the temple is famous for its karesansui garden, which is surrounded by fine arrangement of cherry and camellia trees. Visitors can enjoy its beautiful views regardless of the season. As it is also famous for its colorful maple trees in autumn, it is known as Momiji-dera (maple temple). Entry is free.
Access: Take the Sanin Line from JR Kyoto Stn. and get off at Fukuchiyama Stn. Then take a Kyoto Kotsu Bus to the Handa bus stop (about 15 min.) The garden is about 20 min. on foot from the bus stop.
Jyoshoko-ji Temple
Jyoshoko-ji
Temple stands quietly in the middle of Shuzan Road. When visitors
go through the wooden gate, they have a fine view along the approach to
the temple. This temple is strongly connected with the Imperial family.
The garden was built at the base of a mountain and makes the best use of
the mountain slopes to enhance its beauty. It has a design that perfectly
blends the stones with the trees. Part of the garden’s pond extends
underneath the main structure of the building. There are some old famous
cherry trees in this garden. One is called the Kokonoe sakura,
a designated national natural monument. One of the other trees is called
the Mikuruma-gaeshi sakura. The third tree, the Sakon-no sakura
was brought from the Imperial Palace many years ago. Open 9:00-16:00. Access: Take the JR Bus from Kyoto Stn. to Shuzan Stop (about 90 min.) Then take Keihoku town bus to Yamaguni-goryomae Stop (about 10 min.).