Seattle
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Seattle Japanese Gardens
lovely melodies floating across the water.... I have visited this garden several times but today was transforming - there was a Japanese music duo playing music in the garden. Everyone should know! They play lovely music in the garden on Sunday afternoons! I had to blink to remind myself that I wasn't in Japan - the combination of the scenery and the music was just like stepping into another world.…
A place to feed your soul.. I tend to love almost every element of Japanese culture that I've been exposed to so far, but the serenity of the gardens I've seen take the cake. This one is my favorite, peace and tranquility just oozes into my being whenever I walk through the gate. :)…
A formal, delicately balanced creation where simplicity and logical lines lend to a peaceful environment..
The Experience
A compact three-and-a-half acres, the Arboretum's Japanese garden is the picture of tranquility. Renowned designer Juki Iida, who orchestrated the construction of more than
1,000 Japanese gardens worldwide, drafted 34 pages of blueprints outlining his plan for the space and also personally selected and directed the placement of more than 500 granite boulders from the Cascade Mountains. He also coordinated the planting of maples, pines, mosses, ferns and rhododendrons around a pond that now holds turtles and fancy goldfish.
Features
The equilibrium of the garden is mirrored in the strict rituals of the tea ceremonies, held here at 1:30pm on the second, third and fourth Saturdays of each month the garden is open (March 1 to Nov. 30). Observation of the ceremony is free; participation (including tea and sweets) costs extra and is payable at the gate.…
