A simple bridge of wooden planks allows visitors to cross this small stream. (Photo: Amber Mezbourian)

Kenroku-en: Beauty in Small Things

Stroll through one of Japan's most celebrated gardens

Amber Mezbourian   - 1 min read

Kenroku-en, designated one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan, justly deserves this accolade. Dating back to the Edo period, it is a 'strolling style' garden, with spacious grounds containing ponds, streams, tea houses and cottages. It possesses the six sublime qualities to which gardens traditionally aspired: spaciousness; seclusion; artifices; antiquity; water courses; and panoramas. With so much going on, it's perhaps easy to become overwhelmed, but wander the numerous paths at your own pace and admire the beauty in even the smallest things here.

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Amber Mezbourian

Amber Mezbourian @amber.mezbourian

I spent three years living in Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher on the JET Programme, not knowing what to expect but with images of Tokyo, geisha and Mount Fuji in my mind. I was placed in Yamagata prefecture in a small rural town that I couldn't find in any guidebook. I learnt to sno...