Japanese Garden

The garden was created in cooperation with the twin city of Sapporo. On approx. 2100 square meters, the attempt is made to represent nature in its entirety and thus to revive the cosmos. Despite changing religious views over the centuries, the core message of the Japanese garden has been handed down to our time, so that it was laid out in the essential style of the Heian period (around 800 AD).Entering the garden from the east, one descends the stone steps and looks through the opening in the stone wall to the Mizubutai, a stage on the surface of the water. It is an element from the Shinto shrines (Shinto is the oldest region in Japan) and forms the heart of the garden. Here religious dances are performed for certain ceremonies.After this glimpse of the Mizubutai, one walks along a short path framed by the stone wall and a hedge and is encouraged to reflect in silence on one's life so far.At the end of the path you climb up to a terrace. From there you have a view over the whole garden. Here it becomes clear that the stage in the centre symbolises the centre of the cosmos. The water surface represents the sea and the stone shore represents the wide sea coast.Afterwards you can sit down on a waiting bench, an element from the tea garden, and enjoy the view. In traditional tea gardens the guests wait here until they are called to the tea ceremony.Behind Mizubutai is the garden section with an open pavilion. On the way there you will come to Azumaya, a water basin where you can wash your hands and mouth and thus cleanse your soul.In the pavilion, you then reflect on your past. The steady roar of the waterfall underlines the tranquility of this site and at the same time the rocks reflect the lonely Japanese mountain landscape.The lanterns in the garden were made by a stonemason from the old imperial city of Kyoto. The wooden "Kasuga" latrines are painted red and artfully cut pine and maple trees complete the ambience.