The Kyoto Garden sits in Holland Park, London, and is a place for peace and quiet contemplation. It was opened in 1991 and was a gift from the city of Kyoto to commemorate the long friendship between Japan and Great Britain. I've always found Japanese culture fascinating- I read Memoirs Of A Geisha (my first ever Amazon purchase, back in 1998) and saw the film at the cinema. I also read Geisha, by Liza Dalby, an American anthropologist known as 'the blue-eyed geisha' who was the first western woman to train as a geisha.
I wandered past ruined Holland House to get to the Kyoto Garden. It was created in 1605 and was once a glittering social, literary and political centre. But in 1940, the house was hit by twenty-two incendiary bombs and largely destroyed, leaving only the east wing and library standing.
Come and take a walk in my shoes and we'll meander past the large house- sections of which have been seen on film and TV- and then we'll head into the Kyoto Garden, with it's perfect waterfall, Koi carp, Egyptian geese and a solitary peacock. Did he show me his fantail? Check out my vlog and you'll find out...
I have also blogged about the Kyoto Garden before, link:-
