Haradani Garden 原谷苑

これが個人宅の規模か？！と思うほど立派な庭園。迷路みたいに延々と続いて、しかも季節の花が所狭しと咲いている。桜は、ソメイヨシノではなくて、八重咲きの濃いピンク色の花。その他にも、つつじ、ミツマタなどなど。売店もあって、飲み物、和菓子、お弁当が売られている。ベンチや屋根付きの休憩所はそこら中にあって、晴天の中、ぽけーーーっと花を愛でるのはなににも代えがたい贅沢だった。桜の背景は、やはり青空が最高。

アクセスは、金閣寺近くのわら天神前から無料のシャトルバスが出ている。北大路バスターミナルから、M1系統のバスでも。M1系統は本数が少ないので、帰りはシャトルバスか、タクシー。南区からは一時間かかりましたが、行く価値あり！！　平日なのに結構な人だったので、土日はもっとすごいのかも。平日休みってやはりありがたいなー。

Haradani En garden is so huge and magnificent that you would wonder "Is this the size of a private garden?"  The garden is like a labyrinth, with a variety of seasonal flowers in full bloom.  The cherry blossoms are not the typical Someiyoshino but a deep pink, double-flowered variety.  There are also azaleas, mitsumata (Japanese honeysuckle), and Yukiyanagi (Thunberg's spirea), and more.  There is also a store selling drinks, Japanese sweets, and boxed lunches, which can be enjoyed on benches and covered rest areas placed throughout the garden.  It was an irreplaceable luxury to just sit back and enjoy the flowers in the clear weather.  Blue sky is the best background for cherry blossoms.

How to get there... a free shuttle bus leaves from Waratenjin-mae near Kinkakuji Temple. The M1 bus from Kitaoji bus terminal is also available, but the M1 bus is not frequent, so you want to take a shuttle bus or a cab on the way back.  It took an hour to get there from where I live, but it was worth the trip!  It was a weekday, but there were quite a lot of visitors there, and it probably is even more crowded on weekends.  I'm thankful for weekday vacations.