Japan at its most divine: These 10 heavenly gardens are sanctities of nature - and will make your spirits soar Ivo Dawnay is whisked from Tokyo to Hiroshima, then on to Kyoto and Nara Japan's gardens are 'jewel boxes of artifice, miniature landscapes', he says READ MORE: Travel experts reveal 5 cities that are perfect for solo travellers By Ivo Dawnay Published: 13:52, 25 June 2024 | Updated: 13:57, 25 June 2024 e-mail View comments They say that only four in ten tourists in Japan ever get to see its holiest landscape – a view of Mount Fuji – as it is so often lost in mist and clouds. Unpredictable weather is something the UK and Japan have in common, along with a propensity to queue respectfully. But during my tour of Japan’s finest gardens, organised brilliantly by Riveira Travel , it was the differences between our cultures that proved the most intriguing.
No one, after all, goes to the Land of the Rising Sun for its beaches – though I believe there are plenty worth seeing. Nor do many make the 14-hour flight for the museums and galleries, though there are many of those, too. But people do go for the gardens, the cherry blossom or the autumn colour – and they are never disappointed.
Japanese gardens, however, are not like British ones. They are mostly jewel boxes of artifice, miniature landscapes and constructed vistas of hills and ponds, enhanced by rigid disciplines and traditions, many unchanged in centuries. Sculpted: A woman strolls through the Sagano Bamboo.
