November/10/2018
I went to Yokokan Garden(養浩館庭園). You can get there in 15 minutes from Fukui Station.
Yokokan Garden is a Japanese garden that was once the villa of the lord of Fukui Domain. The villa was built in the 1600s, but the garden was destroyed during the war in 1945. However, it was restored and opened to the public in 1993.
The Journal of Japanese Gardening provides a ranking of nearly 1,000 Japanese gardens. In 2019, Yokokan Garden was ranked seventh, and since 2007, it’s been in the top seven.
Japanese gardens consist of four components: water, stone, plants and scenery. In the past, “standing stones” meant making a garden.
When I went into the garden, there were a lot of trees, and the birds were singing loudly.
There was a big pond in the center of the garden where a lot of carp and two water birds were swimming. There weren’t any fences around the pond, so it was very expansive. There were also Japanese irises, azaleas and hydrangeas, so people can enjoy these flowers throughout the year.
Green moss was growing on the stones and the ground, and this created an elegant atmosphere. Using moss as soil cover is a unique feature of Japanese gardens.
There was a natural stone bridge that people could walk across. There were also stepping stones that people could walk on without getting their shoes dirty. The stepping stones were beautifully arranged.
I also went into a building. I think that one of the good points of the garden is that you can go inside the building. There were more than 10 rooms, and each room had some windows. As a result, I was able to enjoy the garden from a lot of different angles. You can enjoy the garden like a lord in the building.
At 7 p.m., I went back to the garden, where a special light show was taking place. The birds were no longer singing there, and it was very quiet. I only heard the voices of insects.
The light show was very beautiful and magical. The scenery was very different from what I’d seen during the day.
Yokokan Garden is an oasis in Fukui, and it relaxes the tension a person might be feeling.
(The official English website of Yokokan Garden):http://fukuisan.jp/en/yokokan/index.html
↑↑ This is Yokokan Garden.
(References):
「よくわかる日本庭園の見方」（著：田中昭三、監修：斎藤忠一）（ジェイティビィパブリッシング）
「図解 日本庭園の見方・楽しみ方」（文：堀内正樹、監修：宇田川辰彦）（家の光協会）
「日本名庭園紀行Ⅱ」（阿部茂）（竹林館）
「岩波 日本庭園辞典」（小野健吉）（岩波書店）