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| Tea House at Japanese Garden |
I had first heard of a Japanese Garden during a trip to Sydney many years ago. In many cities that I have traveled since then, I have been told about the presence of Japanese Gardens. It was in Victoria, Canada that I actually experienced one at the famous Butchart gardens as we spent a few hours there. That particular Japanese garden created in 1906 was the first of its kind in that part of the world.
Japanese cities are full of gardens. If you look at a tourist guide and look for places to visit, the names of several gardens would pop up in each city. Even each shrine we had visited had boasted of lovely gardens. These gardens are beautifully maintained and offer you a lot of serenity. It was on the last day of our Japan trip that I got a chance to spend a couple of hours at Shinjuku Gyoen national garden. The family had decided to go for some last minute shopping and I took off for the gardens which were about twenty minutes walk away. Set on 144 acres it blends French formal garden, English landscape garden and Japanese traditional garden.
Certain elements have to be the integral part of a Japanese Garden :
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| These gardens are right in the middle of bustling Shinjuku area. Bridges are an integral part of Japanese gardens. |
Water : It contributes to the expression of nature and symbolizes renewal, calm, wonder and continuity in the hereafter.
Stones : Stones are a symbol of duration . The stones are laid out in accordance with strict rules, depending on their shapes and sizes; they often are twinned by pairs.
Lantern: With the advent of the tea ceremony, the lantern became a leading element in the layout of a Japanese garden.
Bridges: Bridges are privileged sites in a Japanese garden, where one can linger and take in the beauty of the landscape and enjoy the lovely breeze.
Plants: The Japanese show a natural ability to interpret the charm of plants and flowers in order to express their joys and pains.
Some images clicked by me are for you to enjoy these lovely gardens :
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| Love this colour |
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| The Japanese love their plants and they love photography. Don't know what exactly caught their interest here. |
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| School children are given exposure to everyday life by frequent visits to museums, shrines and gardens |
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| They must be mighty pleased to be out in open |
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| It was all so beautiful that one could have spent an entire day here |
I could spend limited time here as we had to travel to airport to catch our flight. The evening before our departure and on the same day that we arrived from Osaka we visited Soka University of Japan. Soka University is also a prominent University in USA. In Japan they have many international students and amongst them are our family members.
Soka University
Our visit to this premier institution of japan happened as my cousin Tushita and nephew Shaurav are students here. We had been to Universities in UK and USA but thought that it would be nice to visit a university here as culture is totally different. With close relatives studying here, we saw it as an opportunity to visit Soka university on the outskirts of Tokyo.
The instructions by Tushita were very clear – Take Chuo line from Shinjuku as JR pass is valid on that and get off at Hachioji station. From there take a bus to just outside the University. By now we had become pros as far as Japan transportation system was concerned. Just an hour before boarding the train from Shinjuku, we had arrived by Shinkansen from Osaka. Distances become irrelevant when you have such fast and efficient transport system.
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| At the University with Tushita |
The surprise came when we were shown a statue of Rabindranath Tagore right in the middle of campus. This great man had rightly been honoured by a great University in a faraway land.
As we got our picture clicked there and moved on a young boy came running to us. He apologized for spoiling our picture as they were playing in the background and offered to click another one. We assured him that their being in the background actually enhanced the quality of the snap !
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| Rabindranath Tagore has written Indian national Anthem. It was thrilling to see a statue of the Nobel laureate here. |
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| An auditorium with a capacity of 4000. Principal of my ex school La Martiniere Lucknow has a dream of this capacity auditorium in the campus. |
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| This is a famous pond in the campus where the students come and relax and meditate. |
As the University is set amongst the forests of Tama foothills, you can see a lot of greenery from a vantage point from one one of the buildings. There are hills and greenery all around. Lovely setting for a University to be in. During the cherry blossom season the flowers bloom all over the University making it into a very picturesque location. It was surprising to hear that on a clear day Mt Fujiyama is visible from here.
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| Soka University is located amongst the verdant forests of Tama foothills. |
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| Nice cafeteria. It had become a bit chilly that evening so it was a good idea to have a nice cup of coffee here. |
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| A special round of the library was given to us as Tushita worked here part time. |
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| Saying bye to our Japanese family members studying at Soka University. |
This ends my marathon series of blogs on Japan visit. Hope you enjoyed reading them and they were knowledgeable.
E Mail: rohinarora@gmail.com
Twitter : @arorarohin
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