Japan's Three Great Gardens! Kenrokuen in Autumn Rain

Kenroku-en Garden in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, is counted among Japan's Three Great Gardens. Known as a rainy city, Kanazawa ranks sixth nationally in annual precipitation and first in rainfall duration. My first visit to Kenroku-en also fell on a drizzly day. While I often thought, "This would be even more beautiful with autumn colors," the meticulously maintained garden was truly splendid. Walking through the entire garden without stopping at the tea houses takes about 1 to 1.5 hours, making it just the right amount of exercise (with relatively few stairs or steep inclines). Pine trees are abundant (about 560 are planted), and the red pines, with their branches spreading freely in all directions, were particularly charming. A winding stream called the Kyokusui flows through various parts of the garden; it is drawn from the Saigawa River, located 11 km away.

Kenrokuen