Showing posts with label Sankei-en. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sankei-en. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Day 16 - Sankei-en - Inner Garden (Yokohama)

15th February, 2003 - We had the time, and the curiosity... so we paid the extra yen to gain access to the inner garden. The gardens were actually developed at the turn of the 20th century by a wealthy silk merchant...Sankei Hara... Clearly the business to be in back in those days. He established the gardens as a legacy, and it became a sort of historical magnet - where a number of historical buildings have been physically re-located to their current site.




The inner garden is more refined... however... sometimes strange things happen. For instance we were walking along the garden path, when we saw a large granite box... the temptation was too much. T-chan-zombie soon appeared out of the box drooling for "brain....must eat brain". Turns out however... that actually was a coffin. So sometimes goofing around can go too far. I now need to source a steady supply of brains to keep my wife happy... if you know of a good supply - please reply.


Actually... unlike gardens in Australia... gardens in Japan generally don't look their best in Winter as many of the trees have lost their leaves and the grass has died off... yet still the inner garden has a lushness that's very appealing compared to the wilder garden outside.












Outside you will find yourself struggling against the crowd - and there are definitely fewer people in the inner garden... also the food hall is outside which adds to the sense of tranquility and decorum. It's a nice place to stroll...

You'll also find a lot more of the historical buildings inside - though perhaps none as visually stunning as the three-tiered pagoda outside. You can move around many of the buildings - but some are strictly looking from the outside only.


Overall, T-Chan and I were really quite happy to have discovered Sankei-en... unlooked for as it was. It may not have been the "Yokohama" that we were expecting, but it was a good place to catch-our-breath and chill out for a few hours. Thoroughly recommend.

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Day 16 - Sankei-en - Outer Garden (Yokohama)

15th February, 2003 - We arrived at Sankei-en fairly easily... actually, we hadn't known much about the garden until the night before, so this was a spur of the moment thing for us.

Approximate Directions: From Yokohama Station (East Exit): About 35 minutes by bus number 8 or 125 to Honmoku Sankeien-mae. From there, Sankei-en is another five minutes by foot. From Negishi Station (JR Negishi Line): About ten minutes by bus number 54, 58, 99, 101 or 108 to Honmoku. From there, Sankeien is another 5-10 minutes by foot. 


It's approached via a stark causeway across a lake...


The premise - as far as I can see - is to recreate a wide range of garden and building designs within the one park. This makes for a very interesting design that adds variety (you get to see everything from the ancient thatch houses right up to Meiji-style villa. It's also a well known place for hanami (flower watching), at at this time of year the plum blossoms were just starting to show. A bit early still...




There are always things happening in Sankei-en... whether it's bonsai displays....








Or Koto (like a Japanese harp) and Shakuhachi (flute)... Actually - this music swept across the park and really gave the air a texture that was hard to describe... except delicious and filling. We really enjoyed listening...


The thing about Sankei-en is that there's a wealth of moments... where you come across that new style of building, or a new view that makes you stand back and reflect...








The moments in time that have brought you here are distilled... 

Or think that you've entered an alternative reality where the words "silent and deadly" have an altogether different meaning...


Actually Sankei-en is two gardens - an inner and outer - and they both have separate charges. The (main) outer garden has most of the attractions - the pagoda...















And main lake....



And we would most probably recommend this if you can't spend the whole day here. Please be warned however - Sankei-en gets VERY BUSY by lunchtime on the weekend, so you definitely should aim to get here earlier rather than later.










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