mihama-en with the chiba rotary club

So this post is a little bit late, but last week I got to participate in a Japanese cultural experience at Mihama-en in Makuhari, hosted by the Chiba Rotary Club! It wasn't my first time at Mihama-en (since I went there when Houston was here), but it was still just as serene and beautiful - and this time I also learned lots about it from the man who designed it! Super cool.

We started out by having lunch and doing self-introductions in a little pavilion just outside the garden, which still had a nice view. The bento was delicious, of course! I never know what exactly I'm eating with this kind of box lunch, but it is always tasty so I'm okay with it. :)


Then we split into groups for the rest of the schedule: putting on yukata, going on a tour of the garden, and then having tea! Even though I took those kimono lessons, I still just let them help me put my yukata on, haha. Then we went for a walk around the garden with one of the Rotary Club members, who as I mentioned also happened to be the person who designed the garden!

During our walk he told us all sorts of interesting things, like the reasons behind the shape and placement of the stone lantern at the entrance, how the screen made from a certain type of tree branches was used because of its scent to make things pleasant for guests, and how you can tell if a garden is Japanese vs. Chinese or Korean by the presence of a pebbled area meant to imitate a beach. I also learned that there are strict restrictions on what type of item can go where in a Japanese garden, which I guess doesn't surprise me too much.

This island is supposed to be a turtle!

Then we had a tea ceremony! It wasn't my first time, but I did learn that when you enter, you're supposed to cross the tatami border with your right foot, and when you leave, you should cross it first with your left foot, for reasons that I think have to do with yin and yang but didn't completely understand (oops). But apparently that's why tatami is the width it is - so you can cross with one foot and cross the next border with the same  foot in exactly two steps (also apparently explains the width of the steps you can take in a kimono)! Which was pretty cool. :D

All in all it was a really good experience and I'm glad I was invited to be part of it! Mihama-en is a really gorgeous traditional garden in the middle of one of the busy city centers (you can get the whole skyscraper and nature juxtaposition which I love), so I really like it. Admission is only 100 yen, too!

見浜園 Mihama-en (Japanese garden)
Open all year
Hours: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Admission: 100 yen for adults, 50 yen for high school students and under
Access: ~10-minute walk from JR Kaihin-Makuhari Station (part of Makuhari Seaside Park)
Makuhari Seaside Park website (Japanese): http://www.seibu-la.co.jp/makuhari/guide/