Kenrokuen Garden is considered one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan, alongside Korakuen (Okayama) and Kairakuen (Ibaraki). This garden is located in Kanazawa City, next to Kanazawa Castle. Kenrokuen has just about everything that a garden should have and features ponds, a teahouse, trees, waterfalls, and bridges. This is one of those gardens that you will happily want to visit just to pass the time, escape the real world or just relax your mind a bit.
Kenrokuen means “garden of six sublimities”, which refers to the huge spaces, views, water, seclusion, antiquity, and artificiality which, according to some theories, are the 6 necessary attributes to make the perfect garden. Kenrokuen is a pretty huge garden by itself, and you can easily spend an hour to two to fully explore the garden grounds.
As you walk around the garden, you will be greeted with different views, including several vantage points overlooking the city. Another view will be of the beautiful Kasumi Pond, and the stillness of it will let you appreciate the reflections of the trees and buildings. You will also appreciate the myriad streams flowing through the garden, with their clear water adding to the tranquility of this place.
As you further explore the garden, you will come across the Yūgao-tei teahouse that you can enter. Inside, you will be able to sit down and gaze out into the garden. You can spend hours here just gazing out and losing yourself in your own world. The good thing about this teahouse is that it is fully air-conditioned so you will be able to escape the summer heat (if you are visiting during the summer) and at the same time fully enjoy the garden from a very comfortable place.
This is a very popular garden among the locals as well, so do not be surprised if you see lots of locals just taking an afternoon or early evening stroll. You might even catch a wedding photography session!
One thing to note, you need to pay ¥310 to enter the garden. This includes a map that can help you traverse the garden freely, so is well worth the admission.
