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Aoyama Flower Market Tea House in Tokyo

Aoyama-flower-market-entrance

Aoyama Flower Market

Before arriving in Japan, we read a lot of articles about places to visit. One that jumped to the top of our list was Aoyama Flower Market in Tokyo, a flower shop with a cafe. The photos showed beautiful flower displays and creatively displayed food served in a cosy area dripping with plants. This was a place we had to visit!

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Kyoto Botanical Gardens

Kyoto-botanical-gardens

Kyoto Botanical Gardens are located north of the city.

There are thousands of plants and many different areas to discover within these gardens which are one of the oldest in Japan. Founded in 1924 and displaying 12,000 plant species from Japan and other countries, you can wander through garden areas of Roses, Bamboo, Hydrangeas, Japanese Iris, Lotus and European style plants.

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Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands

Boardwalk running through the Hakone wetland forest

Hakone Botanical Garden is unlike any other Botanical Garden we have visited. Once you enter the wetlands it is easy to forget this area was once rice paddies. The layout and planting design have been done so well, it is hard to believe they were man-made, and you are not walking along trails in a natural wetlands area.

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How to prepare for your trip to Japan

Preparing for our trip to Japan

Our first trip to Japan was a long time coming and many hours were spent planning: How to prepare for your trip to Japan? Research and more research.

Right from the start our aim was to travel independently whenever possible. It didn’t take long to realise we could plan this trip and develop our own itinerary.

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Happo-en Garden Tokyo

View over a gate into Happo-en Garden Tokyo

A Tokyo garden worth visiting

Happo-en Garden in Tokyo was a place we were keen to visit.

I had read several articles describing Happo-en as a quiet garden of great beauty. As it was walking distance from the Teien Art Museum, we combined it with a look at the Institute for Nature Study (an area of indigenous vegetation) and easily had our day planned.

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Japanese gardens to visit

Garden in Japan

Choosing which gardens to visit in Japan was one of the most exciting and frustrating parts of planning our trip to Japan. We have included a list below of some of our favorites.

Having careers in horticulture and a life-long interest in plants both in their natural environment and in gardens, it is not surprising our first overseas trip was to Japan. This is a country immersed in gardens – a country where gardens are an important part of everyday life.

A love of nature is evident in the smallest house block in Japan where a tree or shrub carefully pruned and shaped might include other elements such as water, moss or stones, creating a place of peacefulness and beauty. Or the unexpected public garden discovered amongst city buildings, beautiful parks immaculately maintained and Botanical gardens. Many temples and shrines also include stunning gardens worth visiting in their own right.

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Kabuki Theatre

Kabuki Theatre actor

In a tear inducing moment of Christmas 2017 our daughters gave us a cash voucher to spend on a ‘unique Japanese experience’… a thoughtful and generous gift which really tugged at our hearts!

After considering various options- sumo wrestling, sushi classes, kimono dressing, ninja training etc- we decided that a visit to a Kabuki theatre would be more suited to our tastes. Although we are not regular theatre goers, we do enjoy the opera, and had read that Kabuki was like opera without the singing. Apart from knowing it involved costumed actors with white faced make-up, we knew little about Kabuki theatre.

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