Buenos Aires is a magical city, full of contrasts and corners that will steal more than one look and one photo. Between its history, its tradition and its culture, there is also room for others. For example, the Japanese Garden.
Surrounded by the Bosques de Palermo (Palermo Woods), the Japanese Garden is a slightly secret place that makes anyone who visits it fall in love. Built in 1967 on the occasion of the visit of the Emperor of Japan Akihito and his wife Michiko, it is the largest Japanese-style garden outside the Japanese country. Walking surrounded by bonsai, azaleas, kokedamas, orchids and cement lanterns transmits an incredible tranquility (when it's not crowded with tourists like me or children running).
The door of the garden rises like a construction of another species, a door that we would not normally see in this city. We pay and the first thing we see when entering is green, very green. On the sides of the cement road the plants overflow with life and every so often we find a sign that tells us what species the specimen belongs to.
But inevitably the center of this garden is the small lagoon around which the walk is organized. It can be similar to any other Palermo lagoon, but the bridges painted in a vibrant red tell us about different customs. In the background we see the tea house, which ends up transporting us.
The red definitely stands out. In the park there’s also a building that houses a cultural center, a Japanese restaurant (way too out of my budget), a greenhouse where you can buy plants (that’s where I got my Ling Ling) and food for fish from the lake and a shop with Japanese crafts. Inside, everything is built looking for peace and harmony.. In fact, it’s supossed to be one of the most relaxing places in the city.
I must say I quite enjoyed the visit, regardless how crowed it was. It’s a small space full of nature inside of these concrete jungle. It’s quite comforting finding yourself surrounded by this environment once in a while. There are a couple of interesting stuff in here, I found two small dragon look alike statues, that unfortunately had no sign to explain what they represent, but I still found them pretty amusing.
There was also a couple of stone lanterns pretty beautiful, I’d love to know if they have a meaning or what they represent for the japanese culture.. But once again, there was no sign. The part I loved the most was a tiny spot with some sort of fountain, the way it reflected on water caught my eye.
I'm way too far from being a traveling blogger, just sharing some experiences on the road that's called life. Hope some of you enjoyed and some others are curious to visit this place. Cheers!