Monday, November 13, 2017

Admiring Okayama's Korakuen in rain and sunshine

It was raining early on during my mother's 
and my visit to Okayama's Korakuen
 
Happily though, the rain stopped and blue sky appeared 
while we were still at this charming stroll garden
 
And we were also there when clouds, sun and water
combined to create magical scenes like this :)
  
The afternon that I went to Shukkeian, it was on my own as my mother was tired out from her exertions earlier that day and had retired to our hotel in Hiroshima to rest before venturing out in the evening for dinner at Sushi Tei.  Afterwards, when I showed her the photos I had taken at that restored stroll garden, she had expressed her regret that she hadn't gone there with me.

Still, rather than take my mother to Shukkeian, I decided to take her to a larger and justifiably more famous garden -- one considered to be among the Three Great Gardens of Japan (along with Kanazawa's Kenroku-en and Mito's Kairakuen).  As a matter of fact, when I visited Okayama's Korakuen a few years back, I actually had told myself that it'd be a good place to bring her on one of our Japan trips.
 
Consequently, I didn't let a little bit of rain stand in my way of doing so.  And a good thing too since, like Takamatsu's Ritsurin Koen, whatever precipitation that fell during a visit to it didn't detract all that much from one's being able to admire the beauty on view in that expansive, ingeniously-designed and well-maintained garden.  Also, as it turned out, it stopped raining midway through our Korakuen visit.  Not only that but the clouds parted sufficiently to reveal patches of sparkling blue sky for part of our visit and then also combined with the sun to produce magical scenes that truly were a sight to behold!
 
Commissioned in 1687 by a daimyo, Korakuen was completed only in 1700 and made regularly accessible to the public from 1884.  Like Shukkeian, it was damaged by bombing during the Second World War but beautifully restored after peace was declared; in the case of Korakuen, thanks in no small part to extensive and detailed records of the original designs having been passed down from generation to generation over centuries. 

8 comments:

peppylady (Dora) said...

It look so clean and fresh...Coffee is on

YTSL said...

Hi peppylady --

Korakuen is indeed very clean. There's a veritable army of gardeners and such looking after it. As for fresh: I wish I could capture the smell of the air in the garden, especially after the rain. So very lovely! :)

Paul said...

Forgot to ask ... how would you compare Korakuen versus Ritsurin Koen? Shikoku is on my list (perennially ... but I'll get there eventually!) so I'd like to see whether Ritsurin Koen is worthwhile.

Paul

YTSL said...

Hi Paul --

I think Korakuen is pretty special thanks to its expansive lawns while Ritsurin Koen is also special and interesting thanks to it actually consisting of a Japanese-style garden in the south and a more Western-style garden in the north. Have a feeling that you're a fellow fan of Japanese gardens -- and if so, you definitely should visit that garden in Takamatsu when you do eventually head over to Shikoku.

Paul said...

Alright I'll add it to my list. The more I hear about Shikoku the more I realize that a 2 week trip may not cover all I want to see ...

Paul

YTSL said...

Hi Paul --

Should you go to Shikoku, do also visit Shodoshima. And before your trip, make sure to check out Keisuke Kinoshita's "24 Eyes" (which is set in Shodoshima) -- only have tissues nearby when you view this much beloved film! :)

Paul said...

Keeping in mind that you're a cinemaphile while I'm not ... what was the highlights of Shodoshima for you? Or did you go there specifically for the art festival?

YTSL said...

Hi again Paul --

The ferry ride from Takamatsu to Shodoshima is one of those where the journey can be about as good as the destination. I guess I lucked out in terms of having fine weather the day I went but the views of the Seto Inland Sea and its islands really were stupendous.

The island's Kankakei Gorge was another highlight. Oh to be there during koya season...

http://webs-of-significance.blogspot.hk/2015/10/shodoshimas-spectacular-kankakei-gorge.html