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In the Japanese tradition, the creation of gardens was an artform elevated as high as any other. The garden became a physical manifestation of local esthetics, traditions, philosophy, and cosmology. Gardens, like the Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu City on the island of Shikoku, were built in harmony with the local landscape. Wandering the pine-scented footpaths of this finely preserved, centuries-old garden is an otherworldly experience.
![Ritsurin Garden]()
Ritsurin Garden
Before the garden was made public in 1875, the grounds were the private realm of the region’s feudal lords, and it is not hard to conjure in the mind’s eye the image of those men dashing out elegant haiku while looking out from the garden’s teahouses. The teahouses in Ritsurin Garden range from rustic thatched pavilions to the luxurious Kyu Higurashi-tei Teahouse. For a small entrance fee (the fee varies depending on the venue), visitors can take a cup of sencha or matcha, enjoy local sweets and look out on the garden.
![Ritsurin Garden]()
Ritsurin Garden
Ritsurin Garden was constructed to offer views of not only the garden itself but the surrounding countryside, including Mt. Shiude. The garden’s ponds and creeks also reflect the natural world—Ritsurin Garden was built on a riverbed—and provide a tranquil soundtrack of trickling water, the faint buzz of insect life and the croak of frogs. These waters once also attracted waterfowl and served as the private hunting grounds of the local lords. In the northern half of the gardens, a renovation in 1993 restored the duck hunting grounds, the Kamoba. The best way to enjoy the water—and get another view of the grounds—is to take a trip with the boatmen that run punts on the South Pond. The boatmen work between 9am and 5pm (in the winter months, the final departure time is one hour before the garden's closing time) and the cost is 610 yen for adults and 300 yen for children.
![Ritsurin Garden]()
Ritsurin Garden
The garden reveals a different character with each season. The autumn and winter is the best time to appreciate the pines and the artistry of generations of gardeners that cultivated and preserved the sometimes centuries-old trees. In the fallow season, the bones of the garden are laid bare, and the monochromatic sparseness recalls the simple beauty of Japanese ink painting. The spring brings out the irises, and the pink blossoms of the plum trees in the Hyakka-en Ato. The summer is the time to take shelter under the pines or enjoy chilled sencha in one of the teahouses.
![Ritsurin Garden]()
Ritsurin Garden
Other escapes from the summer heat include the Sanuki Mingeikan (Sanuki Folk Craft Museum) (open from 8:30am to 5pm), a collection of local handicrafts, including traditional lacquerware, the Ritsuin-An Gift Shop, and the Shoko Shoreikan (Commerce and Industry Promotion Hall), which, despite its anodyne name, is worth visiting for its traditional architecture and balcony view of the North Garden. The Garden Cafe Ritsurin, located near the east ticket counter, features udon, ubiquitous in the area, but also a small menu of Japanese and Western dishes made with local ingredients.
![Ritsurin Garden]()
Ritsurin Garden
Visitors arriving from Okayama Station (100 miles west of Osaka) on the main island of Honshu can take the Seto-Ohashi Line on an island-hopping trip to the waterfront of Takamatsu City. From the station, the walk to Ritsurin Garden tracks through a string of linked shopping arcades, including Lion Dori, but visitors can also hop the Takamatsu-Kotohira Electric Railroad’s Kotoden Kotohira line to Ritsurin-Koen Station (this is the original portion of the line, opened in 1926). The journey from Okayama Station takes approximately an hour and a half and will cost about 2,500 yen. Admission to the garden is 410 yen; and be sure to check the garden’s opening time, as it changes with the season!
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