Traditional Japanese Garden in Ohori Park

Ohori Park

At the southern end of Ohori Park in Fukuoka is a large, traditional Japanese garden that is not so well known.

The garden was created in 1984 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Ohori Park.

The gardens were designed by Kinsaku Nakane, who also designed the famous Adachi Museum gardens in Shimane. the garden at Nijo Castle in Kyoto, and numerous other gardens in Jaan and abroad.

The gardens cover 12,000 sq. meters and have a large central pond as well as a meandering stream, and a karesansui, "dry" garden.

The garden is mostly enclosed in low, artificial hills that not only block out views of the city but also the city sounds.

There are several waterfalls, and numerous bridges along the paths for visitors.

There is a tea house built in traditional Sukoya-style where visitors can enjoy a green tea while viewing the teahouse garden.

During the autumn colors season and cherry blossom season Japanese gardens tend to be used by professional photograhers to shoot wedding photograhs. For visitors this is perhas a chance to see quite picturesque scenes.

However, for those who want to photograph the garden itself, these groups tend to hog the most picturesque spots, and can be irritating after a while.

Goods from Japan delivered to your home or business

Rakusuien Garden Hakata

Rakusuien

Rakusuien is a small garden in downtown Hakata, located next to the Sumiyoshi Shrine.

The garden and house were built in 1906 as a second residence for a wealthy businessman.

The property is surrounded by a Hakatabei wall, that has rooftiles and other recycled building materials embedded in it.

After the war it operated as a ryokan, but in 1996 it was bought by the city and opened to the public as a garden.

A path encircles a large pond and crosses it via a small bridge, and the garden includes a small waterfall.

The rooms of the former villa that look out over the garden are open and visitors can enjoy a cup of green tea while viewing the garden.

I visited in early December and the autumn colors were still on display.

Like most Japanese gardens, Rakusuien is planted with a variety of trees and including Cherry, so has plenty of seasonal variation.

As well as the main house, there is also a small, rustic, traditional tea room that I will post about soon.

It is open every day from 9 to 5 except Tuesdays. Entry is a mere 100 yen, with matcha and seasonal sweet available for 500 yen.

Koinobori

Buy tatami direct from Japan

Kokin Denju no Ma Teahouse

Kokin Denju no Ma Teahouse

Kokin Denju no Ma teahouse is an old, thatched building with fatastic views out over the large pond in Suizenji garden in Kumamoto. The teahouse is actually a bit older than the garden, but it was not moved here until 1912.

For more than 300 years it had stood inside the grounds of the Imperial palace in Kyoto but it probably had a different name then.

Kokin Denju is an esoteric teaching on classical poetry. Yusai Hosokawa, the grandfather of the man who established Suizenji garden in 1637, was a samurai scholar who passed on the Kokin Denju to his student Prince Hachijonomiya, the brother of the then current emperor. This took place in the teahouse when it was in the Imoerial palace in Kyoto in the 16th Century.

It is now free to enter and enjoy the best views of the garden.

Buy dokudami tea from Japan

Mount Fuji at Suizenji Garden

Suizenji

It is believed that the earliest Japanese gardens, based on Chinese gardens, were representations of mythical and legendary landscapes that were Daoist ind later Buddhist in origin. The extremely common Crane or Turtle Islands being examples.

Later actual famous landscapes, usually again Chinese, that had been immortalized in poetry and painting were the inspiration. Later still came the idea of gardens representing actual jaoanese landscapes..

Suizenji Garden in Kumamoto is said to be based on the 53 stations of the Tokaido, the highway that connected Kyoto with Edo, and the most famous view along that route is of course Mount Fuji.

The garden was built for the tea-drinking pleasure of the Lords of the Kumamoto Domain and also has a Noh stage as well as several teahouses within the grounds.

Shohinken Teahouse & Garden

Shohinken Teahouse

Shohinken is an Edo-period garden and teahouse not far from Yatsushiro Castle in the south of Kumamoto.

It was built in 1688 by Naoyuko Matsui, the third Matsui Daimyo of the domain, for his mother. I believe the site was originally a temple md the basis of the garden may have already been in existence.

It is sometimes known as Hama no Chaya, "Beach Tea"house", as it was adjacent to the beack of the tidal Kuma River, though now it is more than 1K from the river.

A large part of the 9,000 sq m garden is a large pond with small bridges and stepping stones.. In 2002 it was registered as a National Scenic Spot.

There are many planters in the pond and they come alive in early summer when thousands of Irises bloom. There are also lillies and lotus plants. The shoin-style teahouse is unusual in that it has two floors. I am pretty sure the glass was added in the early Meiji Period.

Under normal circumstance the main building cannot be entered, but there is a small museum attached with tea ceremony articles and other artifacts connected to the matsui Clan.

Buy dokudami tea from Japan

Jizo Jaya Teahouse

Jizo Jaya Teahouse

Rest area at Jizo Jaya Teahouse on the Kumano Kodo

Towards the end of my first day walking the Saigoku Pilgrimage, I reached the site of the former Jizo Jaya Teahouse. It is located about halfway along the Ogumotori-goe section of the Nakahechi Route of the Kumano Kodo. This first section of the Saigoku pilgrimage follows the Kumano Kodo route for a few days. During the previous few hours of climbing up through the forest I had passed signs indicating former sites of teahouses along the path, none of which still stand.

The view from the rest area at Jizo Jaya Teahouse

These teahouse4s were not the rustic, but expensive, small rooms where the rich indulged their pretensions to sophistication by memorizing a complex set of minute rituals of the tea ceremony. Nor were they the tearooms of the pleasure districts of Edo Period Japan where sexual assignations took place, a foreunner of the Love Hotels of today. These teahouses were more akin to the service areas found along highways nowadays, places to rest, refuel, and replenish.

Jizo-do at Jizo Jaya Teahouse rest area.

Now there is a covered rest area for shelter from the weather, toilets, and even a vending machine. A recently rebuilt Jizo-do houses a group of Jizo statues, and there is also a large, gravel floored structure which is open and also available to take shelter and rest.

Jizo statues along the Kumano Kodo

The trail had followed a forest road for a few k, though there was absolutely no traffic. In fact, I had not seen any other humans other than a solitary Frenchman since I left Seigantoji Temple at the start of my walk earlier in the day. This was an obvious place to stop for the night as there was nothing but forest for the next 10k or so. Most people nowadays have well-planned and organized schedules for their pilgrimages where nothing is left to chance and the unexpected is avoided. It is recommended that this section of the trail be started early so accommodation or transport can be reached easily. I prefer to carry a sleeping bag and enough food and drink so that I can wing it and take advantage of the unexpected adventures that offer themselves and so get to sleep rough a fair bit. Some of you, I hope, can appreciate that  the delights of sleeping out often outweigh the discomforts.

Rest space for pilgrims and hikers along the Nakahechi Trail.

For as far as my ears could hear, and as far as my eyes could see, I was alone. Without a cellphone or other people I was free to immerse myself in the world and allow my usually chattering mind to continue its solo dance without distractions.

Buy dokudami tea from Japan

The Tea House at Hagi Castle

Hagi Castle

Within the grounds of the Hagi Castle ruins there are not many buildings. A small storehouse, a fairly modern shrine, but there is also a small traditional teahouse set among some gardens.

Of all the times I have been there it has only been open once, but there always seems to be someone working on the gardens.

I believe it is possible to have tea here but I can find no information as to when or how much.

It is a nice place to wander and take pics though....

Buy dokudami herbal tea from Japan