April 11, 2009 Day 12: Kairakuen Garden & Fukuroda Falls

Ranked among Japan's three finest landscape gardens, Kairakuen is most famous for its over three thousand plum trees. The garden is located in Mito, the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture. Kairakuen was built in 1841 by the 9th lord of Mito, Tokugawa Nariaki. Unlike Japan's other two great landscape gardens, Kenrokuen and Korakuen, Kairakuen served not only the ruling lord but was also open to the public, its name meaning "park to be enjoyed together".

While most Japanese gardens are famous for their cherry blossoms, Kairakuen is famous for its plum blossoms. Every year, some 3,000 plum blossoms bloom ahead of spring, transforming the garden into a paradise of red, pink and white. The Mito Plum Festival at Kairakuen is a huge event, attracting people from all over Japan. In spring, Kairakuen is filled with cherry blossoms and azaleas, and in fall with bush clover and colorful autumn leaves.

Hidden away in the remote hills of the town of Daigo in northwestern Ibaraki Prefecture is Fukuroda Falls, a 120-meter-tall cascading waterfall, regarded as one of the three most beautiful in Japan alongside Nachi Falls in Wakayama Prefecture and Kegon Falls in Tochigi Prefecture. While many visitors flock to the falls in early November to see them amongst peak autumn color foliage, they can be uniquely attractive in each season. Winter in particular can offer the rare chance to see the entire cascade frozen over. Also in winter, colorful nightly illuminations of the falls are held incorporating music.