Sankeien Garden Chrysanthemum Exhibition

It is Chrysanthemum season here in Japan. There are exhibitions at different gardens and shrines and I'm fortunate enough to live within an easy train ride to Sankeien Garden outside of Yokohama. November 3rd is Culture Day, a National holiday here in Japan where the nation celebrates their artists and scholars - through parades, exhibitions and awards. It was also the day a group of us decided to explore beyond the gates and experience another part of Japan.

Bossy Explorer had the inside scoop on how to get from Negishi train station to the gardens back entrance. Jeff and I had traveled to the gardens during Cherry Blossom season but had followed the Base directions of taking the train to Yokohama and then the city bus to the gardens. I'm pretty sure we could have walked there faster than the bus ... it was not something I wanted to repeat with a dozen or so American ladies and so when Bossy Explorer said "my Japanese friend Reiko took me in the back way" I was game to try the "Japanese Way" ... which of course involved quite a bit of walking. Why didn't I have my step counter on that day? I think I might just have hit the elusive 10,000 mark.


It was a glorious Fall day. THIS is what I'd been waiting for. A slight nip in the air, enough to start out with a light sweater and then shed it later, low humidity and a crystal blue sky. A perfect day for being outside. Thank goodness Bossy Explorer was in the lead, because there are no signs directing you from the Negishi train station to Sankeien. I don't think I would have found this on my own. There is a decided benefit to going with someone who has been places before here in Japan - you get to discover things you might otherwise have missed. As our group approached the back entrance to the garden Weather Explorer and I noticed that there were a couple of festival tents set up on our left and "What's this? Pottery?!" Val (a.k.a Weather Explorer) and I immediately veer off to the left to see just what all the fuss was about. Because none of us are fluent in Japanese I am guessing that this was a student show with some very reasonably priced pottery for sale. I have totally fallen in love with Japanese pottery ... I'm like an addict, I can't get enough. So when I saw the pretty black/blue/white vase that reminded me of Mashiko style pottery I snatched that baby right up before anyone else could put their fingers on it. For Y800 (if 1:1 that would be $8) I could not resist and I didn't even care that I'd be lugging it through the garden for the rest of the day. There was also an exhibition of the students work and with an enthusiastic wave from one of the students she gave us a sheet, explained that we were to vote on our favorite three entries. My favorite from the day was the photo with the 3 white vases (of course).

Purchases made we were off to find the Chrysanthemum Exhibition. There were a number of exhibition tents set up throughout the garden and the photos in the slide show were my favorites. These mums are huge – some the size of a dinner plate. The care and nurturing it must have taken to get them to this stage, after what was what some say the worst summer on record here, is inspiring. We meandered our way through the garden looking at the different displays, I was particularly taken with the bonzai tents. These tiny, miniaturized versions of chrysanthemums, shaped not into jurassic sized mums but delicately sculpted art forms were delightful to behold. The photo with the vermillion bridge and pond is a recreation of Sankeien Gardens. Bossy Explorer stated the display was not to the level that she saw last year, but without anything to compare it to, I was duly impressed.

Living here in Japan, I've received many gifts ... one of them is the reminder that time here is finite. It would have been easy to stay home last week and take care of laundry, errands, the day-to-day stuff of a family. But all of that can wait. I have places to see, a culture to experience, and each day here is a gentle nudge that time is short – I will not have these chances again. The Chrysanthemum Exhibition only comes around once a year ... there is no putting it off and waiting till next time. That was the gift, don't wait, grab these experiences while you can both here and when you eventually get back to the U.S. – be more present and live in the moment and for me that's inspiring.