Japanese Zen Gardens

One if my favorite aspects of Japanese culture is their beautiful Zen gardens. In the US we usually only see Zen gardens in a botanic garden. But in Japan, many temples and parks have formal strolling gardens, with walking paths winding through carefully sculpted and arranged gardens, often with water features. I learned that in a Zen garden, the water has to be natural- a pond, stream, or waterfall, but never a powered fountain. The design has a focul point as viewed from many angles.

Historic buildings, hotels, restaurants and even private yards often have Zen viewing gardens, small spaces meticulously designed to be viewed from a window or walk. These typically have raked gravel or other stones placed along with the pruned shrubs, and perhaps a stone lantern.

Here are a few of the many we saw or walked through.

Golden Pavillion

Hotel viewing garden

Kenroken Garden