Japanese Garden: A Guide to Traditional Japanese Gardens

One of the most beautiful things about Japan is its traditional gardens filled with elements that provide an enriching, peaceful, and harmonious experience. In this article, we will talk about the Japanese Garden, its elements, and the most popular ones in Japan.

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What is a Japanese garden like?

The Traditional Gardens of Japan are called Teien [庭園], which can also mean park. Often a Japanese garden can be called a park or end with En [園], or a variation. Most traditional gardens in Japan belong to a park, temple, palace, hotel, village, or even a Ryokan.

It is interesting to see that both the ideogram Niwa [庭] and sono [園] mean garden or park.

Many of the traditional gardens in Japan were founded during the Edo period, during a time of peace that involved various festivals and tea ceremonies. These gardens possess great exclusivity and involve arts and aesthetics from Japan, China, and the West.

The elements of a Japanese Garden

What distinguishes a Japanese garden from a Western park or garden? There are elements that identify a teien:

Water: In most stroll gardens the center is a pond, river, well, waterfall, or stream. Water symbolizes the cycle of life, birth, and death. In karesansui gardens, the dry landscapes, raked gravel takes that role.

Koi: Many ponds have koi swimming in them. Koi symbolize luck, prosperity, and persistence.

Stones: Stones complement rivers and ponds, often large stones are found in the middle of the pond as a path or on the side. Some stones even become deities of Shintoism.

Sand and Gravel: Gravel is often used to designate sacred lands. It can form paths that suggest a life's course, or, in a dry garden, stand in for waves and open water.

Lanterns: Japanese lanterns do more than light gardens at night. They create contrast with the natural elements of the garden and often sit beside a stone water basin in tea gardens.

Bridges: Many Japanese gardens have at least one wooden bridge to linger on, appreciate the view, and watch the koi. Bridges can also symbolize the transition from the mortal to the sacred.

Plants: Every garden needs plants. In Japan lotus, pines, and often a bonsai belong to the picture, while large teien are carried by trees that bloom in spring and turn red in autumn. That seasonal change is one of the main highlights of the garden.

The Best Japanese Gardens in Tokyo

Tokyo is the main destination among tourists, and even being a technological city, you can find several famous and beautiful gardens. Some are even free, while others charge a very low fee to enter.

Shinjuku Gyoen: in Shinjuku and Shibuya

Shinjuku Gyoen opened in 1906 as an imperial garden, after a layout by the French landscape architect Henri Martinet. In this park, you will find a Japanese garden, an English landscape garden, and a French formal garden. By visiting this park, you can kill three birds with one stone.

Koishikawa Kōrakuen: in Koishikawa, Bunkyo

This romantic Japanese Garden was created in 1629 in the center of Tokyo. In Koishikawa Kōrakuen, you will find cherry blossoms, plum blossoms, irises, pines, bamboos, and rice paddies. The garden has about 3000 trees and is considered the best in autumn.

It is located right in the center of Tokyo next to the Tokyo Dome, which is a major tourist spot filled with shops and an amusement park. I had the opportunity to visit this park; it is truly very beautiful in autumn.

Rikugien Garden: in Bunkyo

A stroll garden that Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu laid out between 1695 and 1702 on land granted by the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. The name points to the six principles of waka poetry, and 88 spots in the garden take up classical landscapes. Rikugien offers many seasonal plants and trees such as Sakura, and tea houses open to the public on a regular basis.

Hama-rikyū Garden: Chuo

Hama-rikyū is a Japanese garden in the center of Tokyo, founded as a Tokugawa villa in the 17th century. The garden is popular for its central location and stunning flower fields that are occasionally illuminated at night.

Sankeien Garden, Yokohama

Next to Tokyo, you will find Sankeien Garden, which covers about 17.5 hectares in southern Yokohama. It was built by the silk merchant Hara Sankei in the early 20th century.

The garden features famous buildings relocated from locations all over Japan. It is a unique chance to see different architectural styles in a single garden.

Imperial Palace East Garden of Tokyo

There is a large park next to the Imperial Palace that houses the ruins of the Edo Castle and several gardens. The gardens have a wide variety of trees that were donated by each province of Japan. There is also an inner garden that opens to the public only on certain dates.

The Best Japanese Gardens in Kansai

The Kansai region is another prominent tourist spot. In this region, you can quickly move between the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara. There are some gardens in this region that are worth mentioning.

Sento Imperial Palace, Kyoto

The Japanese garden of the Imperial Palace of Kyoto, known as Sentō, has a pond with 2 tea houses built for Emperor Go-Mizunoo in 1630. In the past, there was a palace in this garden that was burned down in 1854 and was never rebuilt. This garden sits beside the park of the Imperial Palace of Kyoto and provides a unique experience.

Isuien Garden, Nara

A strolling garden in Nara Park that uses borrowed scenery in its design. It is considered a classic example of shakkei, a method of capturing living nature.

Yoshikien Garden, Nara

A garden in Nara Park, which was once part of the residence of the chief priest of Kofukuji temple. Yoshikien Garden offers a small tea house, a moss garden, and a pond. The garden is in a quiet location in a tourist area and often offers free entry for foreign visitors with a passport.

Kokedera: the moss temple

Kokedera is Saihō-ji, the Moss Temple in Kyoto, which has a garden with over 120 different varieties of moss. Temple visitors can walk through this spectacular garden; a reservation is usually required.

Heian Shrine Garden

The garden of Heian Shrine is surrounded by buildings that partially recreate the Heian Palace, the Emperor's residence from 794 to 1185. The garden has rare species of turtles.

The best Gardens and parks scattered throughout Japan

Now that we see the best gardens in Tokyo and the Kyoto region, let's look at some famous gardens and parks scattered throughout Japan. If you are passing through any of these places, it is worth a visit.

Hitachi Seaside Park: Hitachinaka, Ibaraki

The Hitachi Seaside Park (国営ひたち海浜公園) is a large park with hills full of flowers. The park has dozens of varieties of flowers and plants designed so that there is always something in bloom during the seasons. It also offers a series of playgrounds and small themed gardens.

Ashikaga Flower Park

Ashikaga Flower Park is a garden located in Ashikaga, Tochigi, known for its large wisteria vines that have been hanging since 1870. It spans over 20 hectares with wisterias, azaleas, hydrangeas, lilies, and many other flowers.

Kōkoen Garden, Himeji

Kōkoen is a collection of nine gardens in the Edo style, opened in 1992 on 3.5 hectares next to Himeji Castle. The garden has beautiful waterfalls, and its waters resemble a mirror.

Adachi Art Museum

It was founded by Adachi Zenko in 1970 as a way to combine his passions for Japanese art and gardens. He hoped that visiting gardens and artworks together would expand appreciation and interest in Japanese art. The Adachi Art Museum in Yasugi, Shimane, is best known for its award-winning garden. Since 2003 it has topped the ranking of the Journal of Japanese Gardening.

Ritsurin Garden

Ritsurin is one of the most famous historical gardens in Japan. The garden is located in Takamatsu and is considered one of its main attractions. The garden contains a tea house, exhibitions, and sales of art and crafts. A stroll through the garden usually takes one to two hours. There are several bridges, paths, and small hills that offer a beautiful view of the garden and the surrounding landscape.

Kenrokuen, Kanazawa

Kenrokuen is a large garden with one of the oldest watering systems in Japan, which operates using natural water pressure. The garden took 200 years to complete. It is designed to change according to the seasons and is one of the most attractive gardens when covered in snow. Kenrokuen is one of the three great gardens of Japan, together with Kōrakuen and Kairakuen.

ACROS Fukuoka

A building in Fukuoka designed as a stepped hanging garden. It is possible to walk through the garden from an observation platform at the top of the building. The garden has about 50,000 plants from 120 species. Inside the building is a large atrium.

Hokudai Botanical Garden: Sapporo

Hokudai is Hokkaido University, which has its own botanical garden in the city center. The Sapporo city botanical garden was founded in 1886. The garden has over 4000 species of plants and a variety of historical buildings. The gardens also have greenhouses and a Natural History Museum full of odds and ends that Hokkaido University has collected over the years.

Ohori Park, Fukuoka

A large park in the city of Fukuoka designed according to the principles of Chinese gardening. Its main feature is a large pond that was part of the moat of Fukuoka Castle.

If you are passing through Tokyo, Kansai, or another region of Japan, these gardens are worth the detour. The elements stay recognizable; the mood changes with the season and with the place.