Sankeien Garden
About an hour train ride from Tokyo is this beautiful garden in Yokohama. To me, what set this garden apart from others that I have visited was the number of architectural elements that it has. Throughout, there are temples, teahouses, ceremonial halls, residences, and even a three-story pagoda. Of course it still had all the elements of the other gardens I have seen, like giant bamboo, Japanese maple trees, bridges, and massive amounts of mosquitoes. But as an added bonus, you were allowed to feed the turtles and gigantic koi in the pond! (In case the beauty of this place wasn’t enough to make you want to visit.)
Tanya LaFary-Goines