Nara, Japan May. 01 Wed 3:17AM
Nara's only Walk-through Garden
Isuien translates to “garden founded on water” in Japanese. This peaceful Japanese garden has ponds that are formed by the flow of water from the nearby Yoshikigawa River. Here you will find a front garden, rear garden, and a few tea houses scattered through the area. Beside the garden is a museum that displays ancient Chinese and Korean pottery, seals, and mirrors.
This garden is renowned for its unequaled landscape view, and should definitely be one of your stops in Nara!
The rear garden is much newer than the front garden, and is also the larger of the two. It features a view of Todaiji Temple’s Nandaimon Gate and the Mikasa, Wakakusa, and Kasuga hills.
Sculptures
In the central pond there are two sculptures – one of a crane and the other of a tortoise. These two animals represent longevity in Japanese culture.
Access
The garden is a 15 minute walk from Kintetsu-Nara Station. Entry to the museum is included in the garden admission ticket, which costs 900 yen.