
The Three Most Famous Gardens of Japan
1. Kenroku-en Garden (Kanazawa, Ishikawa)
Kenroku-en is located right in front of Kanazawa Castle. It took about 180 years for generations of local lords to finally build it into the beautiful garden we see today.
The famous "Yuki-tsuri" (snow ropes) in winter! These ropes protect the trees from heavy snow, creating an artistic, magical winter scene.
Its huge pond and constantly changing views mean you will never get bored as you walk around.
Best Time to Visit: The winter season (early December to February) for the snow ropes, or the cherry blossom season (around late March). The garden is even free and beautifully lit up at night during the cherry blossom time!
2. Kōraku-en Garden (Okayama)
Kōraku-en was built in 1700.
Its biggest charm is the vast, wide-open space and the beautifully kept, bright green lawn that stretches out before you. It feels calm and very welcoming.
Best Time to Visit: Late spring to early summer (May to early June) when the grass and trees are the most vibrant green.
3. Kairaku-en Garden (Mito, Ibaraki)
Kairaku-en was built in 1842 by Tokugawa Nariaki, the father of the last Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu.
It’s known for its incredible 3,000 plum trees!
From late February to mid-March, the entire garden is filled with the sweet scent of plum blossoms, and a Plum Blossom Festival is held. Comparing all the different types of plum trees is a major highlight!
Welcome to my "Essential Japanese for Travel" online course!
You're likely taking this course because you're planning a trip to Japan soon. If you want to learn as quickly as possible before your departure, this is the course for you. Even if you've had some beginner Japanese lessons, I'm confident you'll still learn many new things here.
This course is designed to be practical and immediately useful. You'll learn conversational Japanese from a native speaker and understand the logic of sentence structure—all without memorizing hiragana or katakana or doing traditional grammar exercises.
Having lived abroad for a long time, I travel to Japan as a "half-foreigner" myself, and I've carefully noted which words and expressions are most effective and useful for tourists. I've chosen these words to ensure you don't waste any time before your trip.
The course introduces less than 300 new words, all of which are highly practical and have a high probability of being used on your travels.
The content is structured into seven distinct scenarios. Each chapter has four parts and concludes with quizzes designed to help you integrate the material. The final chapter concludes with a comprehensive 20-question final exam that covers the entire course.
To ensure the course is clear and efficient, I have included an English AI voice. As a non-native English speaker, this helps me provide the best learning experience for you. However, all of the Japanese audio in this course is spoken by me, a native Japanese speaker.