Takamatsu – ritsurin

Takamatsu is a big city on the southern Japanese island of Shikoku.

The Seto-Chuo highway was built in the eighties to connect Shikoku to the biggest island, Honsho, where Tokyo and Osaka lie.

The railway also crosses there, so that is how I got there.

You see a number of small islands on the way, with industry, including oil refineries.

My mission was to see the famous garden in Takamatsu – Ritsurin

It is a stroll garden, if that is the correct term, with paths wandering around the water and winding up to the hills.

An oasis of peace and quiet.

with bridges every where

It was the cherry season and the trees where magnificent, as always.

One with the support we now all need after a year of pandemic disasters.

Fukuoka

Fukuoka. a port city on the west coast of the south island, Kuyshu recently suffered quite severe flood damage. These photo’s are in memory of better times

This is their story if you are interested.

Take it this is their founder

The cat

The garden

and the gate

 

Narita

On my first visit to Japan I did three weeks in Korea in the middle of my visit. On returning to Japan I was tired of planning and booking accommodation so I decided to stay in Narita for a bit, since the airport was there.

What a surprise! A beautiful historic city with a thousand year old temple complex.

Here is the entrance

This first photo is of the water fountain for cleansing as you enter. I couldn’t wait to revisit the temple, so I went there on the first night, – hence the evening light.

On your right as you enter is the pagoda

The temples are more assembled than built. Nothing is fixed and so the building is wonderfully earthquake resistant.

In Japan every temple has its garden, as much a part of the temple as the building. In Narita, it extends as a wood on the hill behind the temple.

After a while, as you wander around the forest, you hear the sound of water rushing.

Near the top, you find the fountain, and behind it the calligraphy museum.

In Japan simplicity is very important. This is the work of one of their most famous calligraphers.

The view from the museum

As you go out there is another scene

Lanterns are very popular, and very beautiful, especially when they are lit at night.

This one seemed to need a bit of help on the lighting front..

That’s all for now, I will add another mini-tour of a Japanese garden for you soon.

They are and remain some of my favourite places on earth.

Mount Fuji

Yamazaki riverbank – Nagoya

Cherry blossoms on the riverbank.

It is tradition to have a picnic under the blossoming trees, everyone is out.

Very interesting to see this old house with its garden there. Built with wood cross beams and clay, similar to the Tudor style in England. It seems that this building style was used everywhere on earth at some time.

Unexpected, especially in a city.

Fujisan

Fujiyama

Suizenji – Kumamoto

Still on the west island (Kyushu), on the west coast is  Kumamoto city. Their garden is Suizenji.

Suizenji is a miniature version of the Tokaido route. The old eastern sea route between Kyoto and Edo – today Tokyo.

Their is a Tokaido line on the Shinkansen railway still today. Gives you a good view on Mount Fuji.

Their you can see Fuji in the garden, snow cap included. The garden is on scale. Only the trees on Fuji they couldn’t quick get small enough. There is only so much you can do with bonsai.

Fuji again, from a different vantage point. Wish I could get a photo with a lawn mower. Do you think they are also miniature?

Suizenji, as you may have guessed from the name, is a temple garden. You have temple gardens and walking gardens.

The old Shinto beliefs are alive and well in Japan. Alongside the Zen Buddism. Shinto is old Japan, Buddism is from the continent.

To wash your hands and rinse your mouth before entering the temple. Often they have dracons, but not this one.

The water is clear and fresh though. The garden was made near a spring. Possible for the sea of the sea route.

The obligatory water and koi with the semi-obligatory camelia japonica.

I wonder how old this pine is. Sometimes you see people on ladders cutting some of the needles out on the growth points.

It’s not easy to get everything in, there Fuji is again, just to the right of the bridge.

Fuji

Ibusuki Flower Garden

On the west island of Japan, in the south is the Ibusuki Flower Garden.

Look what they did to this Ficus Benjamina, looks like it is grafted to itself on every cross.