Shukkei-en garden

Visit Shukkei-en garden. Built sometime in 1620 by Ueda Soko, a famous tea master for Hiroshima’s feudal lord Asano Nagaakira, the Shukkei-en Garden is a National Scenic Spot in Japan. With its cherry blossoms and ponds coupled with miniature representations of mountains, valleys, lakes and rivers, this garden is downright dreamy and enticing. And it is these tiny landscape features that have given the garden its name — Shukkei-en which roughly translates into ‘shrunken scenery garden’. An accurate depiction of traditional Japanese gardens, a plethora of tea houses with outdoor seating offer visitors a fantastic view of the scenery. It was entirely destroyed during the atomic bombings of 1945 but was restored to look like the graceful address that it is today. Considering how picturesque this spot is, there is a good chance that you will see young, newly married couples posing for photographs in their wedding attire.

While it can get extremely crowded during the weekends, weekday afternoons are the best to relax, watch turtles and feed the fishes in the pond. Do remember that you will be expected to buy carp fish feed for a 100 Yen. A mere 15-min walk from the Hiroshima Station, Shukkei-en is worth a few good hours of your time, especially during autumn when the maples turn red. Cozying up with nature couldn’t possibly have felt better.