Sankeien Garden

Sankeien is a 175,000 square meter Japanese garden created by silk merchant Tomitaro Hara starting in 1902. The garden has 17 historic structures that Hara relocated from Kyoto, Kamakura, and elsewhere—the three-story pagoda from Kyoto's Tomyo-ji Temple is the most photographed. Ten of these buildings are designated as Important Cultural Properties by the Japanese government. The garden is divided into an Outer Garden, which opened to the public in 1906, and an Inner Garden featuring Hara's private residence and tea houses. Each season brings distinctive beauty, from plum and cherry blossoms in spring to lotus flowers in summer, autumn foliage, and snow-dusted landscapes in winter.