2012年09月24日
Breakfast in Ritsurin Garden
It’s a little before 8:00 AM, and here I am in the midst of the most beautiful spot in Takamatsu: Ritsurin Garden.
The garden opens at sunrise, so I’m not the earliest arrival, but I’m here for a special purpose——breakfast in a teahouse and a 30-minute boat ride around the south garden. The sliding doors of the teahouse are opened wide, filling the room with fresh air and offering gorgeous views.
Breakfast is traditional Japanese fare——delicious and healthy okayu (rice porridge) with stewed vegies, tofu, grilled fish and pickles (reservations required).
Pleasantly full, I walk through the garden skirting the pond and arrive at a discreet boat launching pad a little before nine. The boatmen are dressed in traditional servant’s garb and they treat their passengers like royalty.
Viewing the garden from the pond offers an entirely different perspective from being on foot——such as close up views of the gardeners at work,
and people relaxing in Kikugetsu-tei teahouse,
views that formerly would have been the exclusive privilege of the ruling lord and his close associates. As the boatmen happen to be skilled and entertaining tour guides, the pleasant 30-minute ride seems to be over in no time.
Boat tours are being offered daily at intervals of 30 minutes between 9:00 and sunset (time changes depending on the season), with an hour break at noon.
Boat ride: 600 yen/person (junior high and under 300 yen). Garden admission is separate. Tickets are sold at the east entrance ticket office.
Breakfast at Hanazonotei: 1,200 yen, reservations required. TEL: 087-831-5255
FAX: 087-831-0310 (Japanese only) http://www.geocities.jp/metabist/hanazonotei.htm
Ritsurin Garden Information
http://www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp/ritsurin/index_e.html
Admission: adults 400 yen (children 170 yen). Hours: sunrise to sunset. Open year round.
Access: 7 min. by taxi from Takamatsu JR station, 20 min. walk to east entrance from JR Ritsurin Koen Station, 3 min. walk to north entrance from JR Ritsurin Koen Kita-guchi, 10 min. walk to east entrance from Kotoden Ritsurin Koen Station.
Many, many thanks to Kumiko and Hiroko for photos and information!
The garden opens at sunrise, so I’m not the earliest arrival, but I’m here for a special purpose——breakfast in a teahouse and a 30-minute boat ride around the south garden. The sliding doors of the teahouse are opened wide, filling the room with fresh air and offering gorgeous views.
Breakfast is traditional Japanese fare——delicious and healthy okayu (rice porridge) with stewed vegies, tofu, grilled fish and pickles (reservations required).
Pleasantly full, I walk through the garden skirting the pond and arrive at a discreet boat launching pad a little before nine. The boatmen are dressed in traditional servant’s garb and they treat their passengers like royalty.
Viewing the garden from the pond offers an entirely different perspective from being on foot——such as close up views of the gardeners at work,
and people relaxing in Kikugetsu-tei teahouse,
views that formerly would have been the exclusive privilege of the ruling lord and his close associates. As the boatmen happen to be skilled and entertaining tour guides, the pleasant 30-minute ride seems to be over in no time.
Boat tours are being offered daily at intervals of 30 minutes between 9:00 and sunset (time changes depending on the season), with an hour break at noon.
Boat ride: 600 yen/person (junior high and under 300 yen). Garden admission is separate. Tickets are sold at the east entrance ticket office.
Breakfast at Hanazonotei: 1,200 yen, reservations required. TEL: 087-831-5255
FAX: 087-831-0310 (Japanese only) http://www.geocities.jp/metabist/hanazonotei.htm
Ritsurin Garden Information
http://www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp/ritsurin/index_e.html
Admission: adults 400 yen (children 170 yen). Hours: sunrise to sunset. Open year round.
Access: 7 min. by taxi from Takamatsu JR station, 20 min. walk to east entrance from JR Ritsurin Koen Station, 3 min. walk to north entrance from JR Ritsurin Koen Kita-guchi, 10 min. walk to east entrance from Kotoden Ritsurin Koen Station.
Many, many thanks to Kumiko and Hiroko for photos and information!
タグ ：Ritsurin Garden
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Cathy Hirano キャシー ヒラノ
I've lived in Japan since 1978. After graduating from a Japanese university with a BA in cultural anthropology in 1983, I worked as a translator in a Japanese consulting engineering firm in Tokyo for several years. My Japanese husband and I moved to Takamatsu in 1987 to raise our two children in a slower-paced environment away from the big city pressures. We've never regretted it. I work as a freelance translator and interpreter and am involved in a lot of community work, including volunteering for Second Hand, a local NGO that supports educational and vocational training initiatives in Cambodia, and for the Takamatsu International Association. I love living in Takamatsu.
Cathy Hirano キャシー ヒラノ
I've lived in Japan since 1978. After graduating from a Japanese university with a BA in cultural anthropology in 1983, I worked as a translator in a Japanese consulting engineering firm in Tokyo for several years. My Japanese husband and I moved to Takamatsu in 1987 to raise our two children in a slower-paced environment away from the big city pressures. We've never regretted it. I work as a freelance translator and interpreter and am involved in a lot of community work, including volunteering for Second Hand, a local NGO that supports educational and vocational training initiatives in Cambodia, and for the Takamatsu International Association. I love living in Takamatsu.
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