#74 - Koraku-en in Okayama City

In May 2013, I briefly visited Okayama city and saw some of the main sights. One well-known place in Okayama is Koraku-en (後楽園) which is known as one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan. It's really easy to get to: it's about a 30 minute walk from Okayama station, or you can take a tram or bus to one of the entrances.

Looking across the river towards Koraku-en, which is on the island.
You can see Okayama Castle on the right-hand side of the river, just to the right of the bridge.

Koraku-en was order to be constructed in 1687 by a feudal lord, and it was finally completed in 1700. One of its main purposes was to entertain important guests. Nowadays, anyone can enter for a small entrance fee to enjoy the beautiful garden. Nearby, there is Okayama Castle (岡山城 Okayama-jo) which is also known as "Crow castle" due to its black façade. It can be also seen from inside the garden, which adds to the garden's scenery.

 

This pond is called Sawa no Ike (沢の池 "Marsh Pond". The three small island built in it are supposed to be based on the scenery around Lake Biwa in Kyoto!

 There is one special feature of Koraku-en that is quite unique for a Japanese garden. Usually, plants and other points of interest are placed in a specific order, so that the garden entertains people when walking around. But, at Koraku-en there are spacious lawn areas. It makes it very reminiscent of a European garden! The lawn area covers about 18,500 square metres (the area of the whole garden is roughly 133,000 square metres).

Picture of the garden map,
showing the different areas.

Of course, Koraku-en still has many things to see, such as plum groves, small hills, ponds and streams, maple leaves - and so on! I have only visited once, but I was told that the scenery within the gardens changes drastically from season to season.

I really enjoyed walking around Koraku-en. It is a great place to spend a sunny day out with friends or family. I saw a lot of people having a picnic or playing ball games. The weather was good too, although I do remember getting a little sunburnt(!).