Adelaide Himeji Garden (Japanese Garden)

Adelaide Himeji Garden

Adelaide Himeji Garden (Japanese Garden of Imagination) is definitely a place you should make time to visit if you are local living in South Australia. The Japanese garden is fairly small, so it won’t take you more than 15 -20 minutes to navigate your way around and absorb the different and distinct elements of the garden.

If you live interstate, or outside of Australia, then let this be a glimpse of the Adelaide Himeji Garden through my eyes, by taking a look at some of the photos I’ve taken during my last trip to the Japanese Gardens.

If you work on South Terrace or Glen Osmond Rd, you can make time to visit it during your lunch break. It’s a good opportunity to take in a different scenery and remove yourself from the bustling traffic nearby on Glen Osmond Rd and Hutt St. I love the fact that we still live a society that appreciates nature, and thus having such convenient access to these pockets of gardens, parks and bits of nature in the city, is a good way to regroup during the day, even though you may be living the city life for the majority of your day.

Meditation

During several of my visits to the Japanese Garden, I’ve seen some people use the quietness and the lake at the heart of the garden to meditate, and this is definitely an option for the brave, but I personally feel a little uncomfortable meditating in public. I much prefer solitude and privacy when I’m meditating. But each to their own.

Adelaide Himeji Garden Entrance

The Adelaide Himeji Garden gatehouse (aka the gate entrance modelled on a temple) contains a washing bowl you can lean down at and purify your hands and mouth before entering. This is a photo of the tree above the washing bowl.

Japanese Garden Lake

The lake, which is the main feature of this Japanese Garden, is based on the shape of the Japanese character shin, which means heart or soul. This is the place I mentioned earlier, that people take time out to meditate. These are some photos of the areas surrounding the lake of the Adelaide Himeji Garden.

Black Pine Trees

There are also several pine trees along the perimeter of the garden, specifically Black Pine (pinus thunbergil). The Black Pine does not shed its leaves for the winter cold. This tree is very important to the Japanese people, as they view it to symbolise courage in adversity. With its long lifespan, the Black Pine also symbolises immortality to the Japanese. I don’t have any photographs of the Black Pine in the Japanese garden, but I thought it would be an interesting side note to share the importance of the Black Pine tree to the Japanese people. I think, hope, expressed in whichever particular or specific way, is important to reiterate and pass onto other people, so that we can all appreciate its abundance. I came across a quote last week, that read, hope is the only thing stronger than fear. And thus its important to cultivate more and more of it. As much as we can.

Japanese Garden Sea of Sand

The sea of sand (kare senzui, which means dry garden) at the Adelaide Himeji Garden, like all other kare senzui, contains rocks that represent the islands and continents and racked sand to represent the seas of the world. This part of the garden, has seating area bordering an edge of the sea of sand, for people to sit down and observe, and imagine the vastness of the sea.

Adelaide Himeji Garden Photos

Here are some more photos from the Adelaide Himeji Garden that I have in my inventory of photos. You can never have enough photos… The words of a girl with a camera…

I hope you’ve enjoyed my Adelaide Himeji Garden photographs. The garden is part of the Adelaide Park Lands and is managed by the Adelaide City Council, so if you need to check the current opening times of the Japanese Garden (they change at depending on the time of year), you can visit their site and check the current opening hours before you plan your visit to the garden.

Adelaide Himeji Garden (Japanese Garden)