On Walkabout In: The Japanese Gardens of Canberra

My favorite park in all of Canberra that is worth spending lunch at are the Japanese Gardens snuggled against Lake Burley-Griffin near the Yarralumla foreign embassy sector of the city:

The history of the Japanese Gardens is inscribed on a stone plaque in the front of the gardens that reads:

The people of Nara City, Japan present these Kasuga Stone Lanterns to the people of Canberra as a symbol of the friendship that exists between our two cities and between the peoples of Australia and Japan this gift was donated by the citizens of Nara City in the name of world peace.

April 1997
Yasunori Ohkawa
Mayor of Nara, Japan

For those that have never been to Japan, Nara is a beautiful city that once served as an ancient capitol of feudal Japan. The city is filled with many historic temples and palaces. However, the city is most famous in Japan for its friendly deer that are considered holy and wander around the city. The deer are all tame and some even know how to bow to tourists when feeding them special deer biscuits.

Even though there are no deer in Canberra, spring is the perfect time to visit the city and its Japanese Gardens because of the colorful cherry blossoms that fill the city and this park:

In the very center of the park is a large stone lantern that overshadows Lake Burley-Griffin in the background:

A walking path circles around the garden welcoming people for a scenic stroll:

In the middle of the gardens is a wooden gazebo you can eat your lunch in and ponder the stone garden and cherry blossoms that surround the park:

Here is a final look at the beautiful stone pagoda of the Japanese Gardens:

Like I said before the Japanese Gardens are definitely worth stopping at and eating a picnic lunch, especially if you have never been to Japan before to appreciate Japanese gardens. This garden is no where near as meticulously maintained as the gardens in Japan but it is easily the most beautiful garden in Canberra by Australian standards.

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