Discover Shikoku! The Journey Within– Part 4

35^th Kinashi Bonsai & Garden Tree Festival

The 35^th Kinishi Bonsai & Garden Tree Festival was also held on October 20-22, 2017 a short ride from the Kokubuji Bonsai Green Festival in the town of Takamatsu.

Although the formal display was not as large, all the bonsai were stunning. The main emphasis of this festival seemed to be both the indoor and outdoor sales areas with some unbelievable prices.

Japanese black pine, US$115.

Japanese black pine, US$ 158. Really!!

Nakazu Bansho Garden

Nakazu Bansho Garden was built by the second feudal lord of Marugame, who lived in a castle up high on a hill, but wanted to enjoy the beautiful scenic Seto Inland Sea close up. So, he constructed a large stroll garden next to the sea. The area has now been built up over the past several centuries, but a wall has been built to indicate the original sea shore line. This garden is about an hour’s drive from Takamatsu and worth every minute of the time needed to get there. The garden also has two museums, one for ceramics and the other devoted to paintings.

One of the highlights of the Nakazu Bansho Garden is a trained Japanese black pine in the shape of an umbrella. It consists of only ONE tree and has been trained for hundreds of years. Small posts hold up the century old heavy branches. There are over 1,500 trained pine trees throughout the garden. An area is devoted to Camellias which were full of fat buds for their autumn splendor.

The pond was designed in the shape of Lake Biwa, north of Kyoto and several bright red bridges which carry visitors from one side of the pond to the other. The views are breathtaking and its now one of my favorite, if not the favorite garden in Japan.