Yuushien

Yuushien is a Japanese garden in the middle of Daikon Island in the Nakaumi between shimane and Tottori.

This is where we went to see the peonies in bloom recently.

While the peonies were certainly the stars of the garden in May, there were other flowers in bloom too including wisteria.

Its a circuit walking garden with a few side paths to explore.

There are different flowers in bloom at different times of the year and for the fall foliage the garden is illuminated and open late.

There are buses to Daikon Island from Matsue and Sakaimoinato.

The garden is open from 8:30 to 17:30. 7 days a week and entrance is 600 yen

Peony Porn

I am not usually a huge fan of photos of the sexual organs of flowers, but today I make an exception.

Yesterday we visited Daikon Island in the Nakaumi, the lagoon that straddles the border of Shimane and Tottori, to see the peonies in bloom.

They have been cultivated on the island since the Edo Period, and Daikon Island is now the largest producer of them in Japan.

Called Botan in Japanese, they were introduced into Japan from China as a medicinal plant in the eighth century. During the buddhist proscription against eating meat "botan" was a euphemism for wild boar meat.

Apparently they bloom all year round but the peak is around now.

A strange woman followed me around the garden so I asked her to pose next to a bloom to give an idea of the scale.