Beauty in Nature, the Gardens of Japan | Solo Travel Talk Podcast

I often include viewing gardens as a part of my solo travel adventures. However, when it comes to Japan, exploring gardens and nature is a must for any traveler. Japanese culture is greatly expressed though gardens, including the aesthetics, some of the philosophy of the people, and even some of the spiritual life of Japan. In this episode of my solo travel podcast, Solo Travel Talk, I tell you all about the gardens that are available to experience in Japan.

Some of the questions answered on this episode:

• What types of gardens can visitors find in Japan?

• Is nature part of the spiritual life in Japan?

• Is there a difference between Japanese gardens and shrines?

• What gardens do you recommend in Japan?

• Is the Peace Garden in Hiroshima worth visiting?

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Read a summary of this podcast below:

I think that visiting gardens where you travel is a good break from just the normal things that you traditionally do. When you go to another city, taking time to explore a garden is a kind of respite from the day's activities, but it's not a waste of time.

Singapore Botanical Gardens. Photo by Joshua Eckert via flickr

Ironically, I've visited some of the most beautiful gardens not in the middle of the country, but in cities. Take Paris, London, Sydney, and Singapore- these cities have some of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world. The botanical garden in Singapore is a UNESCO World Heritage site. There's even an evolving sector of tourism centered around gardens and green spaces. In fact, I am in the process of creating a trip for the AstridTravel Club to see the Chelsea Flower Show in London which, let me tell you, is quite the affair.

So let's get into Japanese gardens. But first some background:

I have found that many Westerners think that Japanese gardens are going to be boring; as if they are just too plain. The kinds of gardens that we, as Westeners, are conditioned to is a kind of classical European garden where there's a lot of symmetry and orderly, clipped shrubs, hedges, and flowers with fountains, and a kind of landscape bravado if you know what I mean. Not always opulence, but some can be over the top. In contrast, Japan gardens are meant to express peace and tranquility through a natural type of presentation. They are designed to soothe, not stimulate the senses.

Amaterasu, one of the central Kami in the Shinto faith. Via Wikipedia.

Traditional Japanese gardens have their roots in the Shinto religion.

The Shinto religion evolved out of an agrarian culture that worshiped and revered nature. So Japanese gardens avoid any artificial ornamentation. Instead, they highlight the natural landscape. Many of these gardens are also designed using the principles of feng shui which believes that the way you arrange physical objects affects the harnessing of energy.

Here's a quote about feng shui:

"It is a good omen to make the stream arrive from the East. To enter the garden, pass under the house and then leave from the South East. In this way, the water of the blue dragon will carry away all bad spirits from the house towards the white tiger."

Basically, the layout is key to good spiritual energy. When they talk about, the white tiger, for instance, that's basically wisdom and strength and good fortune. By having this path flow from East to South East, that in itself is a flow of good energy toward good. This might all sound very esoteric, but it is part of understanding a Japanese garden and the Japanese culture.

The Japanese also want to keep the the Kami, the nature Gods happy because if the Kami are happy, then the people will feel happy.

Every element in the garden supposed to have some kind of meaning or purpose. This is supposed to help you reflect on your life. A Japanese garden is somewhat of a sacred space. It is so grounded in nature and the fact that nature helps your mental, spiritual, and physical health. This might sound a little out there, but I try to impress upon you that everything in a Japanese garden is symbolic.

Also, most of the gardens are designed to adapt to the changes of the seasons so that they are beautiful no matter what the season is. And this is done to help you understand and adapt to the changing nature of your own life. And I think all of that is very special. The gardens are a reflection of Japanese values. What is important is not artificial beauty, what is important is coming to a deeper understanding of yourself and your life.

Asymmetry & Borrowed Scenery

The key design principles of traditional Japanese gardens are asymmetrical. Even though they like balance, it's asymmetrical. They also incorporate borrowed scenery, which I thought was very fascinating.

This means that whatever surrounds the garden- whether it's mountains, hills, even skyscrapers, anything- is used like a frame. And the surrounding environment might be totally different than what's going on in the garden, but it is used.

The more natural and harmonious the garden's design, the more conducive it is for contemplation.

This is to help you stay on your natural path of life, which I thought was just beautiful because they believe you need to find your own, unique path to your life's meaning and basically, you can't force your path.

These gardens are designed to have a flow in them that help you get in sync with your own life and reflect upon it. For example, say you have a stone path that you have to walk through. Well, when you walk on a stone path you have to pay attention because if you don't, you might fall in the water or twist your ankle. It causes you to slow down and pay attention to the details. And then say you have a large path which you can walk down easily. Then, you are able to absorb the broader surroundings. It's like seeing the big picture versus the little picture.

There’s also a garden called the stroll style, and this is usually a path that is typically around a pond. Walking on this path is supposed to stimulate appreciation of your blessings and what is in front of you at that very moment. It helps you to be grateful and focus on the here and now. The Japanese believe this is one of the secrets to happiness: Don't worry about the past, don't worry about the future. Focus very much on the now.

I found the Japanese to be very skilled at that.

Other design elements of a Japanese Garden

• Japanese Gardens avoid straight lines. They like free forms.

• They like to prune the plants and the trees to slow down growth because they feel that age makes plants grow into better shapes. Pruning is like a focus on the beauty of aging and the essence of human nature that we ourselves have to be pruned and cut back.

• Cherry blossoms are a symbol of youth and rebirth.

• Each season they believe is unique and beautiful. So humans should not resist change, but they should adapt to change. And these gardens are designed to help you embrace change and know that there will always be something good in the end.

Zen garden

The 5 Kinds of Garden designs

1. Dry landscape (Zen) garden

These gardens are pretty atypical compared to most other gardens in the sense that they have relatively little greenery and absolutely no water. Instead, they have stones, rocks, boulders and gravel. In this case, gravel is the symbol of water and groupings of rocks refers to mountains, hills, or other portions of land. Zen gardens, as the name implies, are designed to stimulate contemplation and serve as a place for meditation.

I would venture to say that most foreign visitors to dry landscape gardens wouldn't have a clue about the symbolism in this garden and the kind of effect it is meant to have on you. Zen gardens are not meant for stimulation. They are meant for peace and introspection.

2. Study Garden

Study gardens are unique, because the viewer is not meant to walk in the garden, but to stand in front of it and study like you would study a painting. They usually feature a pond surrounded by flora, sometimes lanterns, and maybe a pagoda. But these gardens are not meant for you to enter into, they are just meant for you to view from the outside.

3. The Stroll Garden

Stroll Gardens were developed by the samurai. These gardens are incredibly beautiful and peaceful. Quiet tree-lined paths meander through the garden and, usually, around a centrally-located lake.

Tea Garden in the courtyard of a traditional ryokan

4. Tea Gardens

Tea Gardens are strategically designed to get a person into the right mindset to participate in a tea ceremony. Tea gardens are usually absent of any flowering plants and instead feature mainly evergreens. Most people will not see a tradition tea garden unless they have the pleasure of visiting or staying in a traditional Japanese Ryokan as these gardens are within the courtyard of these places. In addition to more philosophical reasonings such as introspection, tea gardens also have a practical purpose in that they help keep these traditional Japanese homes at a cool and comfortable temperature.

Gardens to visit in Japan:

1. The garden at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo

I chose to stay in the Hotel New Otani Tokyo because it was one of the only hotels in Tokyo with a traditional Japanese garden. And I must say that this hotel and garden absolutely blew me away. The garden is over 400 years old. It was originally owned and designed by a samurai and was purchased after the Meji ???? period. This garden features a spectacular waterfall, beautiful scarlet-red bridges, a koi pond, trees that are over a thousand years, tea houses and a boulder garden. I mean, this garden is absolutely stunning. I did a whole podcast on this hotel, which you can listen to here.

2. Tenryuji Temple and Garden located in Arashiyama (just outside of Kyoto)

The famous bamboo forest is located in Arashiyama. If you intend to visit Kyoto, it is worth your time to visit Arashiyama. There, they have a beautiful temple called Tenryuji Temple and Garden. The temple, called the Temple of the Heavenly Garden is beautiful, but the garden is like a movie set. I visited during cherry blossom season, so the setting was just extra magnificent. A network of small paths meander around a collection of ponds, and under beautiful flowering trees all around this gorgeous temple. It’s hard to describe this place, but it is truly enchanting. After you visit Tenryuji, you can walk right into the bamboo forest where you will find more shrines and more ponds and more things to do there. It really is worth it to spend the whole day in the Arashiyama area because you’ll get to really immerse yourself in nature.

An example of a strolling garden. The Kinkaku-ji Temple

3. Kinkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto

This temple is one of the most famous in japan because the top 2 levels are covered in gold leaf. It is just mind boggling. The temple itself is located in the center of the lake, so the path leading to it winds you around the lake so you can view the temple and its reflection in the water from all different angles. You’ll stroll past all kinds of stones elements, trees, flowers, koi fish in the pond, etc. it really is beautiful.

A tip: everyone wants to see the Kinkaku-ji temple when they come to Japan so it can get very, very crowded. My advice would be to visit this place either right when it opens, or right before it closes, because that way, you can minimize the crowd.

4. Shukkeien Garden in Hiroshima

This was one of the last things I did during my three weeks in Japan. I specifically wanted to visit this garden, because I wanted to see what had become of this area after the atomic bomb hit. Let me tell you, I thought this was the best garden I went to my entire trip. It’s called The Garden of Shrunken Sceneries, and what it is is a collection of miniature scenes depicting life in Japan, all around this lake. They have miniature valleys and hills, streams, rivers and waterfalls, rice fields and bamboo gardens. It’s like they took all of Japan and the various parts of its nature, and put it in one place. It was totally enchanting. If you go to Hiroshima, you must visit this garden.

Other popular gardens worth visiting:

1. Korakuen Garden in Okayama

2. Ryōan-ji in Kyoto (zen garden)

3. Adachi Museum of Art in Matsue (about 3 hours from Osaka)

4. Hamarikyu Gardens in Tokyo (tea garden)

As Koichi Kawana said “A Japanese Garden cannot be fully explained in words, but must be experienced.”

In summation, I feel it is important for travelers visiting Japan to have a baseline understanding of the many types of Japanese gardens because they serve as a catalyst in the understanding of Zen beliefs and philosophies. If you plan to visit Japan, don’t miss the magnificent gardens!