I bought my husband a subscription to Sukiya Living Magazine: The Journal of Japanese Gardening. 

There are 6 magazines per year which focus on Japanese gardens and architecture.  The articles are always interesting, but also educational, with information useful for creating your own Japanese garden

Favourite gardens in Japan

The latest edition, July/Aug 2019 has just arrived. The first article was Viewpoints: My Favorite Garden.

As we are going back to Japan soon and have been making a list of gardens to visit, I was curious to see which ones were highly rated in this article.

A number of Japanese Garden experts were asked: What is your favorite garden in Japan and why do you like it?

As you would expect, the gardens listed varied, as we each enjoy a garden in our own way. But I was pleased to see one of my favorites from our last visit was mentioned. Eikando - a beautiful, peaceful garden with areas of moss under trees, a pond, small streams and many other features of the traditional Japanese garden. We visited in summer on a very hot day and it looked lush and cool.

Gardens to visit

There were a couple of  "favourite gardens" already on my list for this year's trip. Murin-an and Koishikawa Koraku-en. There are others I will research and see if they fit into our plans. 

29/09/2019

We have now been to Koishikawa Koraku-en. There were many features that made this a very special place. It is easy to see why it has been included on the Favourites List.

The feature photo for this post is of one of the hills in the garden. It is covered in a low-growing bamboo.

Sukiya Living Magazine

The July/August  2019 edition of Sukiya Living includes articles on 

• Pond construction. Renovating the stone edge
• Training trees to cascade over water
• Genkan Layout. The design and etiquette of the entrance area to a Japanese house
• Nemawashi. Root pruning

There is also information about a Kyoto Walking Tour in late October. A walk through back streets, visiting homes and gardens and enjoying Japanese cuisine. Unfortunately we will not be in Japan then.

If you are going to Japan, this magazine is certainly worth looking at prior to your trip. It may give you ideas of places to visit or just a better appreciation of Japanese gardens and architecture.

For more information: Sukiya Living: The Journal of Japanese Gardening website