Isuien Garden

Isuien Garden is the only walking style garden in Nara, and is a designated “Special Places of Scenic Beauty”. Isuien Garden dates back to the Meiji era. Isuien Garden is actually two Japanese gardens that were joined together to form one larger garden. The garden behind (west of) the house (Hyoshintei) was completed in 1899. This garden was designed by Horitoku from the school of Urasenke, and built at the request of Tojiro Seki, a sucessful Nara businessman. This garden is a kaiyushiki teien (walking) style design that allows the visitor to easily walk through the garden and view it from many different angles. This garden has a central pond with two islands which feature sculptures of a crane and a tortoise. These animals symbolize longevity or a long life. The central island is connected to the rest of the garden by stepping stones. The pond, which represents water, is fed from the Yosiki river which flows just outside the garden walls. Isuien Garden Open: Daily 9:00am - 4:30pm Admission: 300 Yen Access: Take bus No. 60 or 63 from JR Oji Station and get off at Hokijiguchi. A 10-minute walk from the bus stop / Take bus No. 50 or 97 from Kintetsu Koriyama Station and get off at Hokiji Mae. Isuien Garden | | |