hen you are told that a certain place or experience is one of the best in the country, if not the world you start to build up hype that is normally stifled when you arrive, realising it won't live up to your expectations. This is not the case with Kenrokuen, rated one of the best gardens in Japan.

The name Kenrokuen literally translates to "Garden of the Six Sublimities", which is in reference to spaciousness, seclusion, artificiality, antiquity, abundance of water and broad views which, according to Chinese landscape theory are six essential things that make up a perfect garden.

I visited Kenrokuen in December of 2018. It was a quick pitstop I took with my friend when we were travelling from Yudanaka to Osaka and I'm so glad we decided to take it. It was one of the highlights of the trip, the garden was beautiful. Not in the typical "Oh, it has great flowers" sort of way, no, this place took hours to explore, and each section felt different than the last.

What I found fascinating was there were many, many workers who pick up the fallen leaves. Their work uniforms are beautiful against the different coloured leaves. I guess this was a stark culture shock for me, as where I'm from, this would be hidden at the start and end of every day, but here you very much felt like you were the guest in the garden space, as opposed to you being the main reason the garden opened at all.

However, Kenrokuen isn't just the beautiful garden as described on google, it's also attached to a castle grounds, which were equally as spectacular.

You can find some of the other images inside of the photography portfolio section with this link, or, you can keep it a surprise for when you go!