Upon arriving in any town in Japan, you’d be well advised to
pay a quick visit to the local tourist information centre – usually located
within the main train station or nearby to any major site of tourist interest. These centres are useful for obtaining
maps, guides and general information about the area, however, sometimes, the
English language material distributed at said tourist centres is more amusing
than it is helpful. Take, for
example, the flyer I picked up on a day trip to the capital of Ibaraki
prefecture, Mito.
“Mito city is the history and a town of art. Kairakuen Park. Kenrokuen Park in Kanazawa and
Kourakuen Park in Okayama is known as the three most beautiful gardens in
Japan. Kairakuen is the park which
is secondly big in the world.
There are Senba Lake,
Sakurayama.
Sakasagawaryokuchi and also lots of beautiful place to enjoy seeing in
around the Park.”
Confused? Yes, so was I, but I think what the flyer was
trying to get across is that Mito is a city rich in history and art, and is
home to the scenic Kairakuen Park – which, along with Kenrokuen and Kanazawa
Parks, is officially one of Japan’s top three gardens.
Enticed by this wonderful description, I could hardly resist
making the trip to the “secondly big” garden in the world – particularly as my
visit coincided with Mito’s annual Ume Matsuri, Plum Blossom Festival.
Since my first visit to the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival in Seoul a few years back,
I have been mesmerised by blossoms – walking along that 6km stretch of road,
surrounded by clouds of perfect white and pink, deliciously fragrant, delicate
flowers, I honestly felt like I was in heaven (and believe I uttered the words
‘so pretty’ approximately 30 times for each of the 1,400 odd trees I
passed).
It’s not just the visual
beauty of these flowers that I love, but the way in which their short yet
stunning existence is seen as a metaphor for the impermanence of life in the
Buddhist psyche. The fleeting
glory of the blossom signifies the precarious and transitory nature of life–
something we’re supposed to be reminded of during blossom festivals.
Unfortunately a recent cold snap had delayed the blossoming
of the majority of trees at Kairakuen Park in Mito (like, for about 2997 of the
3000 trees in the park), so I didn’t quite get the blossom fix I was
after. Instead, I ambled through
the gorgeous park that was bubbling with festive atmosphere and spent hours
gazing at the gloriously painted rooms in the Koubun-tei (a 3 storey house
within Kairakuen), each with a theme such as ‘The chrysanthemum room’, ‘The
lantern room’ and ‘The bamboo room’.
I also paid a quick visit to the interesting Kodokan, an educational
institution of the Mito clan in the 1840’s that offered training in military
arts, astronomy, pharmacology and calligraphy amongst other disciplines.
Even if the trees aren’t in bloom, Mito makes for a very
enjoyable day trip from Tokyo and I'd highly recommend you pay a visit if you get the chance.
Photos
