【香川 3/16無料】国指定特別名勝・栗林公園の開館記念日 – [Kagawa 16 March Free] Special Beauty Spot “Ritsurin Garden”

毎年3月16日は、香川県高松市の大名庭園「栗林（りつりん）公園」の開園記念日で、入園料が無料になります。ぜひこの機会に、早春の日本庭園をお楽しみください。

16 March every year marks the anniversary of the opening of Ritsurin Park, a feudal lord’s garden in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, where admission is free. Please take this opportunity to enjoy the Japanese garden in early spring.

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国指定の特別名勝でもある栗林公園のいいところは、早朝日の出の時刻から開園しているところです。4月～9月までは朝5:30にはオープンしています。ということで、週末の日中は混雑しているので、早起きして栗林公園の桜をみてきました。園内を散歩した後に、さか枝や松下製麺所で朝うどんへ行くコースがオススメ！

In this season, the ritsurin garden is open from 5:30am in the morning. If you come to Takamatsu city in the spring and can wakeup early morning, please go to see cherry blossoms. After taking a walk around the garden, I recommend to go to eat Udon noodle. The early bird catches the worm.

栗林公園
住所：香川県高松市栗林町1-20-16 [Google Maps]
日程：年中無休（警報時には臨時休園）
料金：大人410円 / 小人170円
時間：ほぼ日の出から日没まで
※元日（1月1日）と開園記念日（3月16日）は入園料無料

Ritsurin Garden
Address : 1-20-16, Kuririn-cho, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture [Google Maps]
Schedule : Open all year round (temporary closure in the event of an alarm)
Fee : Adults 410 yen / Children 170 yen
Opening hours: from sunrise to sunset
Admission is free on New Year’s Day (1 January) and the anniversary of the park’s opening (16 March).

2018年4月3日撮影 – 3rd April 2018
早起きして栗林公園の桜をみるのがオススメ – Special Beauty Spot “Ritsurin Garden” in the morning
朝6時に起きて栗林公園を撮影。日の出時刻からオープンしている栗林公園、4月は5時30分からオープンしています。お花見の観光客で大勢の人で賑わう栗林公園ですが、早朝はほとんど人がおらずゆっくりと鑑賞することができるのでオススメです。朝うどんとあわせていかがでしょうか。

2013年4月1日撮影 – 1st April 2013

栗林公園
住所：香川県高松市栗林町1-20-16 [Google Maps]
日程：年中無休（警報時には臨時休園）
料金：大人410円 / 小人170円
時間：ほぼ日の出から日没まで
※元日（1月1日）と開園記念日（3月16日）は入園料無料

Ritsurin Garden
Address : 1-20-16, Kuririn-cho, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture [Google Maps]
Schedule : Open all year round (temporary closure in the event of an alarm)
Fee : Adults 410 yen / Children 170 yen
Opening hours: from sunrise to sunset
Admission is free on New Year’s Day (1 January) and the anniversary of the park’s opening (16 March).

Ritsurin Garden | VISIT KAGAWA – Official Tourism Website. –

Introduction
Ritsurin Garden is the largest Cultural Property Garden in all of Japan, and is an important cultural asset that has been maintained for nearly 400 years. Originally created in the Edo period for the daimyo (feudal lord), the garden features six ponds and thirteen landscaped hills in front of the green vista of Mt. Shiun, along with stunning rock arrangements and a wide variety of beautiful plants. Seasonal flowers and one thousand carefully maintained pine trees create gorgeous scenery that changes throughout the seasons. The garden was designed to be leisurely strolled through, and each step offers a new perspective on the garden’s scenery. Passed down through the generations, Ritsurin Garden is truly an invaluable cultural treasure.

The History of Ritsurin Garden
It is believed that Ritsurin Garden was originally created in the late 16th century, from a garden belonging to the Sato Clan located in the southwest corner of the present garden. What is now the Nanko Pond was created around 1625, when Takatoshi Ikoma ruled the Sanuki Province (present-day Kagawa). In 1642, Yorishige Matsudaira began ruling the Takamatsu Domain and inherited the garden. He and the successive generations of his family kept developing the garden over the years, and the 60 scenic spots were named when the domain’s fifth lord, Yoritaka Matsudaira, was in power in 1745. The Matsudaira clan used Ritsurin Garden as their private retreat for 228 years, over 11 generations, until it became open to the public as a prefecturally-owned garden in 1875. In 1953, the garden was officially designated as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty by the national government’s Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Size
Total Area: About 75 hectares (185 acres)
Garden Area: About 16 hectares (40 acres)

Michelin Green Guide Japan ★★★
In France’s “Michelin Green Guide Japan,” Ritsurin Garden was given the guidebook’s highest rating of three stars, meaning it is “worth a special journey.”

The Best Pine Trees in Japan
Although “Ritsurin” literally means “chestnut grove,” since its earliest days Ritsurin Garden has always featured many pine trees. Today, there are about 1,400 pines in the garden, and about 1,000 of them are carefully kept pruned by skilled gardeners. These pine trees have been painstakingly maintained for over 300 years, and their beautiful bonsai-like appearance is a testament to the many years of highly skillful tending.

Ritsurin Garden | VISIT KAGAWA – Official Tourism Website. –

Wasen Boat Ride
Like a feudal lord of the past, one can enjoy views of the garden that can only be seen from aboard the relaxing Japanese-style wasen boat ride, led by one of the garden’s boat guides.

Boat Ride Information
Fare: ¥620/adult, ¥310/child
Operation Hours: From 9:00am to 4:30pm (From November to January, the final departure time is 4:00pm)

Hirai-ho Hill
One of the garden’s best views can be enjoyed from the top of this tall landscaped hill that was made to resemble Mt. Fuji. The view facing Nanko Pond, Kikugetsu-tei Teahouse, and Engetsukyo Bridge with Mt. Shuin in the backdrop is famously beautiful and one of the highlights of Ritsurin Garden.

Kikugetsu-tei Teahouse
This large teahouse is one of the main buildings of the garden, and was dearly beloved by the successive generations of feudal lords of the Takamatsu Domain. The name “Kikugetsu” comes from a line in a Chinese poem from the Tang Dynasty, which reads, “When I scoop up the water, I hold the moon in my hands.” Views of the Nanko Pond from the teahouse are superb.

Neagari Goyo-matsu Pine
This Japanese white pine, originally a miniature bonsai that the 11th Tokugawa Shogun presented to the Takamatsu Domain in 1833, has grown into a large tree.

Kyu Higurashi-tei Teahouse
This small teahouse, formerly called Kohan-tei, was originally built around 1700. After changing its name and location in and out of the garden a few times, it was finally moved to the present location in 1945. This building is culturally and historically valuable, as it represents the style of daimyo teahouse of the early Edo period.

Commerce and Industry Promotion Hall
Originally built as Kagawa Prefectural Museum in 1899, the Hall includes the Main Building, West Building, East Building, and North Building, all connected by corridors. Information on the history of Ritsurin Garden and local traditional crafts is available inside. On the 2nd floor of the Main Building, furniture created by the world-reknowned furniture designer and architect George Nakashima is on display, and great views of the North Garden can be enjoyed from the balcony.

Sanuki Folk Craft Museum
A variety of folk crafts are on display, including Kagawa rihei-yaki ceramics, wooden items, Kagawa lacquer ware and laquered papier-mache, Takamatsu Hariko dolls, and traditional tools that were once commonly used by ordinary people for their daily activities.

[Google Maps]