A Trip to Kairaku-en

Since I’m only in Mito for a few days, I thought I’d spend today doing some touristy sightseeing. I had a look around Google Maps, and immediately found my destination. Situated next to Mito’s Senbako [千波湖] (1000 waves lake), is Kairaku-en [偕楽園]. Kairaku-en, literally ‘park of enjoyment’ is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan (together with Kanazawa’s ‘Kenroku-en’ and Okayama’s ‘Koraku-en’). Feeling rather lucky to be only a few kilometers away, I decided to go venture forth and find it.

The weather today was absolutely perfect. I must have missed the brunt of the Japanese summer by minutes, because although it’s been hot and humid, it’s not been debilitating. Clear skies and a light breeze make for great walking and photo conditions. I was up early today, mainly because of the jetlag (and possibly because my brother rang me at like, 4 in the morning!), so I was up for breakfast in the hotel (rice and miso soup), which was so-so.

I took a walk through town, past Mito station and the various hotels. The hotel I’m staying in (Toyoko Inn, it’s very nice and pretty cheap too, at about 5000円 per night) is situated on the edge of a small river. The water is a fantastic emerald colour, and it leads to the Senbako lake, so I decided to follow it round.

It took me about 30-40 minutes to walk there at a casual pace. If you’re ever in Mito City and want to get to Kairaku-en, find Mito Station South Exit [水戸駅南口], go south a bit to the river and then follow the river west until you come to the lake (full of swan boats! and actual swans…). It’s sign posted from there, but you should reach the west side of the lake and find a bridge which takes you over the intersection to the entrance.

     Kobuntei as seen from Sennamiko

This time of year, Japan is full of Cicada (which are similar to locusts). They make a distinct buzzing sound, somewhat like a grasshopper. Walking through the entrance of Kairaku-en, up the path surrounded by trees, you could hear what sounded like a million of the little scampers. After being in Japan a little while, you get used to the sound, but it’s fascinating nonetheless.

The park covers an area of about 130,000 square meters. It used to be bigger, but with the construction of modern Mito, some of the original park was lost. The park was built in 1842 by the ninth lord of Mito, Nariaki Tokugawa. He had a deep love for plum trees, and the park is literally filled to the brim with them.

Up the path and you come to an intersection. To the right is a restaurant / omiyage store and the local shrine, to the left is the entrance to the main part of the gardens. At this time of year, the park was pretty empty, but it can get pretty crowded in the peak seasons so beware.

The kanji on the gate is 偕楽園東門 [Kairaku-en higashi mon], which means Kairaku-en east gate. There are various gates (usually shaped like torii gates) situated around the park. Through this gate is the collection of plum trees and cherry blossoms. Unfortunately, this time of year nothing is really in bloom, so the full grandeur of the park cannot be realised. I’d love to come down during the spring, so if anyone is near Mito April time, give me a shout.

The park has various monuments and special trees (for instance, a rare cherry tree that blossoms twice a year), and there is a lot to explore, as well as many photo opportunities.

The big attraction inside Kairaku-en is Koubuntei [好文亭]. Koubuntei is a traditional Japanese building built in 1842, the same time as the rest of the park was built. Wooden structure, thatched roof, tatami mats, et. all. It was built by the Mito lord Nariaki Tokugawa to entertain guests. The name Koubun is another word for ‘plum’.

The actual building occupies 765 square meters of land and has over 10 separate themed rooms, each with their own artwork adorning the walls. There are rooms such as the Peach room, The Bamboo room, The Azalea room, etc.

In the west of the building is a room called ‘Taikoken’. It was used as a waiting room for those guests who had come to partake in the tea ceremony. There is an ancient Kokinsyu poem, which asks,

“O, ye who have abandoned the world, yet find no solace in solitude, wither shall ye go?”

Written on the wall of the Taikoken room is a response to this poem written by Nariaki Tokugawa himself,

“O, ye who have abandoned the world, yet find no solace in solitude, come ye hither.”

Between the upper and lower floors is a small room, where the waiting guard or samurai would wait. If there was trouble, the warrior could reach the guests in the upper floor either by the stairs, or via a secret passageway in this little room that took them directly to the seating area above.

The third floor of Koubuntei is called o-sangai (lit. 3rd Floor in Japanese). The room itself was named ‘Rakujuro’ by Nariaki Tokugawa, he believed this to be the best view of Mito and the surrounding mountains. You can see most of the garden from here, as well as several rivers and much of modern Mito.

After viewing the inner sanctums of Koubuntei, you can take a walk through the cedar forest. Vast lines of cedar trees fill this area of the park, offering a canopy of branches which offers some relief from the harsh Japanese summer.

Head south and down the hill, and you come to a small monument called to-gyoku-sen. To-gyoku-sen is a small spring, where the water was said to be able to cure eye diseases. Nariaki placed a slab of white stone here as an ornament, turning it into a small fountain. This water was later used by the lord to make the tea in the tea ceremony hosted at Koubuntei.

Further down the path connecting to the fountain is a river, with the makings of a traditional Japanese garden. Traditional monuments, trees and shrubbery align the edge of the water.

I was still pretty tired from the jetlag, so I made my way back up to the east gate. There is much more to explore, including a whole different section of the garden over the railway line, a bamboo forrest, as well as many other examples of Nariaki’s work.

I took the trip up the steps, past Koubuntei to the restaurant, the ‘Kairaku-en Rest House’. I had my first proper meal in Japan, what else but ramen! I had a shouyu ramen, and it was pretty scrumptious!

After dinner I explored the area around the restaurant a little. There is a gift shop which sell various ‘omiyage’ (Japanese gifts) which you can bring back for family, friends or collegues. They’re usually sweets of crackers, mostly edible goods.

Behind the restaurant is the local shrine, Tokiwa Jinja [常磐神社]. I paid 200円 for my fortune, which turned out to be good! Not the best I could have got, but hey. Tradition says you tie it to a tree or onto the provided woodwork, so I did.

Sweating profusely in the Japanese sun, the lure of a bath back at the hotel was inevitable. I ended my trip at Kairaku-en, knowing full well I’d still have much to explore when I come back in the future.
On the trip back, I survived a fight between some black swans, but just barely!

I definitely recommend Kairaku-en, and this spur of the moment trip has inspired me to hunt down the other two remaining gardens as well. I’m off north for a few days training, then it’s off to Furukawa to start my job teaching English.

Hope you enjoyed it!