Tennoji Park & Keitakuen Garden
So, from Osaka castle
we then headed back to the train station and jumped on another Osaka Loop Line
train to our next stop, Tennoji station, taking 12 minutes.
Tennoji Park is only about a 7-minute walk from the station and is a large expanse of green space with a river running through it. When we visited there was a music event/festival being held on part of the grounds near the station, so it was bustling! With-in the park is the Keitakuen Garden, which seemed to be hidden away! The entrance was a bit secluded, and after paying only 150 yen (about 80p!), once through the gate, the garden just opened up in front of us…it was certainly a hidden oasis surrounded by the city and its buildings! The garden is quite large, and a walk around strolling type, featuring a large pond in the centre. It was lovely and tranquil walking around the garden with surprisingly few people, so it was easy to capture some nice photos.
The gardens large pond has small islands dotted with in it, with stunning Niwaki trees planted on them, as you walk around there are also several differently designed bridges. The garden contains over 200 types of plants and trees.
Keitakuen was
constructed for the Sumitomo family, with the building nearby that is now the
Museum of Fine Art was their main family home in Osaka, with the garden being
connected to it. In 1926 the garden and the house were donated to Osaka city by
the family. The garden was designed by Ogawa Jihei the 7th (1860 –
1933), of which he was regarded as a pioneer in modern Japanese garden design
of the time.
