Maenohara Onsen Sayano-yudokoro｜A Mossy Karesansui Secret Garden in Itabashi, Tokyo

"Maenohara Onsen Sayano-yudokoro" is hidden in Itabashi, Tokyo. Its garden, "Meiseki no Niwa," was designed by contemporary landscaper Motomi Oguchi and has won the Japan Garden Association Award. This karesansui garden named after "Meiseki" (notable stones) uses a combination of unique stones as its backbone, but through the lively embellishment of moss, it breathes life into the hardscape, perfectly showcasing the beauty of the fusion between tradition and modernity. The garden is renovated based on the old residence garden built in 1947 and follows the tsukiyama-style karesansui: a standing stone (Hōraisan) is placed centrally on the front hill with a waterfall beneath it, tea-colored sand simulates flowing water, and an L-shaped dry stream extends from the tatami room deep into the garden. Unique stones such as Kurama stone from Kyoto, Iyo red stone, and Kōshū granite form visual focal points, while moss acts like a "natural palette," quietly growing in the crevices of the stone arrangements, on the slopes of the hill, and among the small stones on the ground—high moss covers bare soil, creating green patches of varying shades that soften the hard lines of the large stones; moss balls hanging from the eaves of the tea house and moss clusters along the dry stream echo each other, bringing the moist mountain atmosphere into the urban space. Designer Motomi Oguchi enhances the prominence of the "Meiseki" through the "negative space" of moss: in the large area of tea-colored sand laid out as a "river," moss is only sprinkled at key points such as below the waterfall and at the base of stone arrangements, creating a layered effect of "stone as bone, moss as flesh." This restrained treatment follows the karesansui aesthetic of "silence" while allowing the moss to bring dynamic rhythm to the garden with the changing seasons—spring moss’s fresh green contrasts with the ancient stones’ vigor, and in autumn and winter, when the moss turns brown, it builds a desolate mood together with the tea sand. The onsen facilities also reflect a deep appreciation for moss: the small stones on the wide earthen floor deliberately leave space for moss to grow, and transparent glass partitions reduce glare interference, allowing the texture of the moss to be fully appreciated. After soaking in the hot springs, dining at "Kakitensha" offers a quiet view through floor-to-ceiling windows of the dialogue between moss and notable stones, experiencing the Japanese aesthetic of "the charm of stones and traces of moss all become a painting" in an urban onsen, making it a model of modern gardens combining nature and craftsmanship. #Moss #GardenDesign