Exploring Japan - A Visit to Awaji Yumebutai on Awaji Island

Following on from my visit to the Water Temple on Awaji Island is Yumebutai, approximately a 20 to 30 minute walk from the Water Temple location. As you might have already guessed from the photos, this was also designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando and was part of my 'Homeage to Tadao Ando' series that I'm currently partaking in for a personal project of mine.

Yumebutai, which means "Dream Stage", or metaphorically "a place in which to dream", in Japanese is a complex consisting of a conference centre, hotel and memorial in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture. This was built near the epicentre of the Great Hanshin Awaji earthquake and was already being designed by Tadao Ando prior to the earthquake but was completed and tweaked after.

I would say the stand out component of this complex, although all the architecture is incredible and dreamlike, is the "hundred stepped gardens" towards the top of the complex. It's quite a walk but was made as a prayer garden in tribute to the victims of the earthquake, with each section having a different meaning and different types of planting.

Here are some pictures that I took on my trip. I think they convey the overall landscape ,but it was difficult to really capture the beauty as it's so vast and was almost like an architectural journey, especially seeing all the beautiful shadows and hearing the echoes made thanks to this large structure designed by Tadao Ando. Scattered throughout are different pieces of art, all of which link in with the overall theme. Enjoy.