Japanese garden and architectures in one convenient location

Visiting Tokyo but don’t have enough time to travel around Japan to see the traditional architectures and the Japanese gardens. It would be wonderful to take a trip to Kyoto, Wakayama or Gifu to see the temples, pagoda, and country houses, but you would need the luxury of time to do that.

Well, here’s an alternative location to fill your needs. If you are pressed for time, maybe you could make it in couple hours, but we suggest taking a day to really enjoy the stroll in the garden located in Yokohama, which is about an hour and a half from central Tokyo.

Sankeien Garden
Sankeien Garden is a traditional Japanese-style garden which opened in 1906. It was designed and built by a silk trader Tomitaro Hara (1868–1939) aka Sankei Hara. This private garden was donated to the City of Yokohama in 1953 and is still open to the public. The garden with 175000㎡ space features ponds, streams and a path to take you through seventeen historic buildings. Among these buildings, ten have been selected as Important Cultural Property, and three more as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan designated by the City of Yokohama.

The buildings include, three-story pagoda which was originally constructed in Kyoto in 1457 and relocated in 1914. Others include an elegant feudal lord residence, several tea houses, country house from Gifu Prefecture and many more.

The garden is also known for its flowers, depending on the season, you could enjoy plum and cherry blossoms in early spring, then with azaleas and lotus followed by chrysanthemum in autumn.