Gyorakuen is a garden with a pond and a circular garden, designated by the national government as a place of scenic beauty, built in the 1470s by Sesshu, an ink painter and Zen monk active in the Muromachi period (1336-1573). It is also called Fujie-ji Fish Paradise because it is managed by the Fujie family.
The pond is surrounded by azaleas and old pine trees.
At the time of the garden’s construction, Kyoto was devastated by the Onin War, and Sesshu, fleeing from the war, built the garden as an ideal paradise with a wish for peace, expressing his sorrow for war and his wish for peace.
With the natural mountains as a borrowed landscape, a pond was dug in the center of the garden, and stone bridges were built in three places with water. Around the pond, azaleas, autumn leaves, camellias, and other plants are planted to allow visitors to enjoy the changes in nature from season to season.
10:00-16:30
Mondays and the 3rd Tuesday of the month
If Monday is a national holiday, the following Tuesday is closed.
Adults 300 yen
High school students and younger: 100 yen
30 min. by bus from Toyomae Kawasaki Station *Take the Fureai Bus, get on in front of JR Toyomae Kawasaki Station, and get off at Arahira Community Center.
15 min. by car from Kawasaki Town Hall