Isuien Garden and Neiraku Museum

#naratrip A breathtakingly beautiful garden. Quite a large one in fact, as a Japanese scene-borrowing garden (or so it called) that “borrows” the mountains far behind it as the backdrop, the South Great Gate of Todaiji is also sighted from afar, making the garden a microscopic of the Nara terroir. The name Isuien means “depends on water, by the water”, which well capturing the essence of the garden: the flowing water. Water forms two ponds, one in the front garden, the other in the back garden, and little streams and miniatures of water falls are seen everywhere to link everything together and breaks the mundane at the same time. The moss also makes give the garden a soft and tender texture, like the ancient temples in Nara or Kyoto will do. Not many people (well, that’s compared with the number of visitors in Nara) know about the place, which is a shame and a gift at the same time. All in all, a must visit place if you happen to be in the Todaiji area.