Kairakuen Garden

Kairakuen garden was first built in 1841 by Tokugawa Nariaki. It is one of the three most beautiful landscape gardens in Japan alongside Kenrokuen and Korakuen. Ever since its establishment, the garden was open for the public to enjoy unlike the other two. The name Kairakuen translates to “park to be enjoyed together.” This amazing landscape garden can be found in Mito, the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture.

Kairakuen is most known for the three thousand plum trees of 100 varieties planted all over the grounds. The season for the plum trees usually last from late February to March. Throughout the year there are other flowers you can see in the park. There is a cedar and bamboo forest located on the grounds. In another area you can stroll around and see the Kirishima azaleas, wisteria, cherry blossoms, and lespedeza when they are in season.

The Kabuntei is a three story Japanese traditional building that was constructed by Tokugawa Nariaki. It consists of a main house and annex. Nariaki would host parties where he invited writers, artists, and local residents to compose Japanese poetry. The original building burned down due to an aerial strike in 1945, but was later rebuilt and completed in 1958.