Raikyuji Temple Garden

#FuriTabi Tenchuzan Raikyu-ji Temple is one of the Ankoku-ji temples that Ashikaga Takauji ordered to be built in various provinces. The garden within, a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty, was created in the early days of Kobori Enshu, the magistrate of Bitchu Province (around 1605), and is a Horai-style dry landscape garden. Commonly known as the "Tsurukame Garden," this famous garden has Mount Atago in the distance as a backdrop, with ripples in the sand giving it an oceanic feel, and two islands, a crane and a turtle, placed in the middle. The background is further shaped by large prunings of azalea that represent the waves of the ocean. This gorgeous large pruning is unique to Enshu.