Category Archives: Garden

Kyoto: Toufuku Temple & Gardens

You don’t have to visit Buddhist Temples in Japan because of religion.
An agnostic hedonist like myself can find many reasons to enjoy their visit.
It was the first time I had the occasion to look at Toufuku Shrine which renown for its beautiful gardens!

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Even inside Kyoto City it is surrounded by a lot of greenery!

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Through the main gate!

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Almost the whole of the Buddhist temple and its annexes were burnt down in a big fire last century and to be rebuilt as an exact copy!

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Imposing roofed walk!

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The main temple is surrounded by quite a few smaller ones!

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Beautiful roofs!

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The main temple built around its own gardens!

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Check the gardens history!

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Have a good look at the flowers around you before entering the temple!

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Irises!

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The main gate before the actual temple!

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A venerable tree!

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The first garden made of stones, sand and moss!

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Can you imagine the water swirling around the stones!

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Ancient and mysterious stones!

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From another angle!

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The land represented by the moss!

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Another tucked away garden!

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One of the buildings enclosing the garden!

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Moving to the next garden!

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Getting near!

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Going through one more garden!

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At this point you enter an unusual garden!

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This particular garden was completed in 1939!

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A very rare checkered Japanese garden!

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A last look before we take our leave!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

So Good Sushi Restaurant in Nice France
Navigating Nagoya by Paige, Shop with Intent by Debbie, BULA KANA in Fiji, Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pie
rre.Cuisine
, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Ichi For The Michi by Rebekah Wilson-Lye in Tokyo, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
ABRACADABREW, Magical Craftbeer from Japan
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

Garden Designs at Hamana lake Flower Garden in Hamamatsu City!

We spent no less than 4 hours inside the enormous Flower Garden in Hamamatsu city and took more than 180 picture!
I am not going to complete as this allows me to write a series of articles on different themes!
This fourth one is titled Animal Garden Designs!

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The flowery entrance!

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Flower bed palette!

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Combining moss and flowers!

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A face all made of succulents!

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A rare pine tree variety very popular with spiders as witnessed by their nests!

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A forest represented with moss as the background of an arched bridge!

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There was also a whole series of miniature landscape gardens with famous buildings and castles from all over Japan!
If I remember well this house can be found in Kobe City!

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Tokyo Station!

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Osaka Castle!

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I think this house can be seen in Hakodate!

Hamana Lake Flower Garden
Hamanako Flower garden
浜名湖フラワーガーデン

10th anniversary of the 2004 Pacific Flora Garden Exposition and the 21st Japan Urban Greenery Shizuoka Festival

Open until June 15th

Hamamatsu City, Nishi Ku, Murakoshi Cho, 5348-3
Tel.: 53-488-1811
ENGLISH HOMEPAGE

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

So Good Sushi Restaurant in Nice France
Navigating Nagoya by Paige, Shop with Intent by Debbie, BULA KANA in Fiji, Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pie
rre.Cuisine
, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Ichi For The Michi by Rebekah Wilson-Lye in Tokyo, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
ABRACADABREW, Magical Craftbeer from Japan
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

Private Garden “Hasu Ike” in Shizuoka city!

Yesterday, having finally recovered from my annual spring cold (the second one, actually!) I found it was about time to shake the torpor out of my legs and take a long ride/walk into some places I do not usually visit in town!

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I’ve known about a private garden since I arrived 38 years ago in Shizuoka City located in Aoi Ku, Kamiashiarai 5 Chome opposite Midori Cho, 10 Chome but funnily enough never bothered to really investigate.

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As I said it is a private water garden and I may not really make the names of their owners public, but many people call it “hasu ike/蓮池”, that is “waterlily pond”!

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By Japanese and Shizuoka standards it is an enormous pond. Completely surrounded by nets, one cannot naturally enter it although it is easy to admire and take pictures of.
Apparently it belonged to a very old family, probably of noble origins judging by the small stone wall keeping the large houses away from the water!

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Waterlilies everywhere!

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But it is not all waterlilies!
More than half of the flowers are splendid ayame/菖蒲/Siberian irises!

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And there are more flowers whose names I haven’t found in spite of my friends’ help!

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Calla lilies!

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Other unknown beautes!!

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And there some other unknown tree flowers to be discovered. Absolutely glorious!

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But all in all these Siberian irises are my favorite!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

So Good Sushi Restaurant in Nice France
Navigating Nagoya by Paige, Shop with Intent by Debbie, BULA KANA in Fiji, Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pie
rre.Cuisine
, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Ichi For The Michi by Rebekah Wilson-Lye in Tokyo, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
ABRACADABREW, Magical Craftbeer from Japan
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City