I’m pretty sure that saying Korakuen Garden is a tautology as -en means garden. But, for the sake of clarity, I’ve titled this post Korakuen Garden, Okayama. Here’s a bit of info from The Best of Okayama.

Okayama’s mild climate and fertile soils mean that the prefecture is known for its quality rice, grapes and peaches. One of Japan’s most popular children’s stories is about Momotaro, the boy who was born from a peach, and a statue of Momotaro greets visitors at the city’s main train station.

The area’s fertile soil also contributed to Okayama’s Koraku-en becoming one of the country’s top three gardens. Constructed between1687 and 1700, Koraku-en was designed with an expansive lawn for leisurely walks, a tea plantation, paddy field, and the Yatsu-hashi zig-zag bridge. Another classic feature of the garden is its use of borrowed landscape. Okayama Castle, although outside the boundary of the garden, is “borrowed” so that its presence on the skyline makes it appear as an integral part of the scenic landscape.

Before this trip, I didn’t have any photos of the garden as my last visit to Okayama was in February when the garden doesn’t look at its best. This time I got a few good images using a combination of nice light, ingenuity, and sheer luck.

Light.

Korakuen Garden, Okayama

Ingenuity.

If you want a little human interest in a shot, but there’s nobody else around…

Tripod, self-timer, run.

Some strange bloke, Korakuen Garden, Okayama

Luck.

Returning to the garden early the next morning, I was initially disappointed as the light was nowhere near as nice as the evening before. However while strolling around the lake I came across a group having wedding photos taken. Bride, groom and parents were all wearing traditional costumes. For a brief moment, the bride stood to one side,  and dropped her gaze . Her light colored parasol worked as a perfect diffuser for the strong sunlight and I knew this was going to be a good shot. I don’t know how the wedding photographer’s photos came out, but I’m delighted with this one.

Japanese bride, Korakuen Garden, Okayama