Singapore Japanese Gardens ~ the tranquil sanctuary

1 Chinese Garden Road,
Singapore 619795

Vermillion Arched bridges at the back of the traditional japanese house

The goal of our Singapore trip vacation was to visit most of the beautiful spots in this small yet remarkable country for the span of 7 days. We knew that it was impossible to accomplish yet we remained focus and stick to the plan (ahahaha!). One great thing about SG: most of the tourist spot is easily accessible by either train or bus as taxi is very expensive unless you are in hurry to go to certain spot you prefer. (If I am not mistaken, we only used the taxi twice, to and fro the airport, that’s it!). Our itinerary was a hectic/crazy schedule yet we enjoyed it superbly (as in bonggang bongga!!! ahahaha!).

The Bridge of Double of Beauty ~ my fave feature in the garden that connects Chinese Garden to Japanese Garden

Right after our visit to Chinese Garden , me and Balong decided to visit the nearby park of Japanese Garden locally known as 'Seiwan'. It is just adjacent to Chinese Garden which is accessible by the ‘Bridge of Double Beauty’. It is a landscaped public garden which is surrounded by lake that lotus plants grow abundantly. We did expect to see Japanese cherry blossoms and maples in here but since Singapore is a tropical country it was replaced by bamboos and pine trees that occupy selected parts of the vicinity. Despite the disappointment (just a bit! ahaha!), the garden is successful in creating the feel one would expect from a Japanese garden.

Lotus plants like the one above is scattered everywhere the pond.

We did compare both parks and personally I prefer the Japanese Garden. The Chinese garden maybe visually exciting because of the elaborate charm of ‘Ru Yun T’a’ (7 storey pagoda), Ixora Garden (8 legendry heroes of Chinese History), Stone Boat, and the twin Pagoda yet the appeal of Singapore Japanese Garden is not to ignore as its simplicity and meticulous arrangements of torii, vermillion arch bridges, stone lanterns and my favorite 'zen garden' were more alluring to me. What is more fascinating: the serenity of the place is so astounding (really!). If Chinese Garden is so solemn, then when you get in the Japanese Garden, (my gosh!) its silence can burst an eardrum (ahahaha!). We only heard the chirping of birds and whistling of trees as no one was in there except me and Balong that morning (ahahaha!). If you want to find your inner peace then you can perfectly find it here ‘FOR SURE!’ no questions ask (ahahaha!).

Side view of Japanese Traditional House.

The replica of a traditional Japanese house situated at the entrance of the park bordered by beautiful landscape of ‘dwarf santan’ greeted us when we get in. Unfortunately, we don’t know if the house is open for public entry because when we passed through the door, it seems locked (ahahaha!). Well, better luck next time. Our purpose supposed to be was to see what is the typical interior design of the traditional Japanese house yet I guess we will keep it to ourselves until we see the real one (hehehe!).

Arched bridges added life to the beauty of the minimalist park

Just beside the house, a lovely 'torii' can be seen. It is a traditional gate commonly distinguishes at the entrance of some Buddhist holy shrines and temples. From there, you will feel the true essence of the garden for you to immaculately think that you were transported in Japan in the midst of Singapore.

one of the 20 different design of 'toro' or stone lanterns.

The garden is lavishly ornamented behind the lake with 20 pieces of different designs of  ‘Toro’ stone lanterns. Each ‘toro’ has its own history that is succinctly explained on each base with its specific name [I do hope and wish to have one of these designs once my house is complete (dream big amigo!!!! bwahahahaha!)]. As per history, these stone lanterns were first erected to guard robbers that beleaguered Japan way back in 7^th century. 

one of the lakes located within the Japanese Garden

My favorite spot in the park is the captivating architectural design of bright vermillion arch bridges that link different parts of the Japanese Garden. They are utterly gorgeous! There are three separate fine pieces that curved over the lake. An impressive piece of art. They are so simple with its red striking color, yet so stunning at its best. It brings beauty and life to the minimalism of the garden's overall landscape.  

Zen Garden

 I am not keen about gardening but the 'Zen Garden' that can be found at the left corner of the park is amazingly beautiful. Just by looking to its beauty is unexplainable; you will really feel at peace. Peculiar rocks, pine trees and bushes are meticulously arranged to create a miniature stylized landscape. They used selection of gravels that is carefully raked to represents water waves. It is relatively small yet its intentions to imitate the intimate essence of nature are absolutely perfect in capturing the hearts of its guests, giving them tranquil scenery with peaceful setting and serene surroundings.

Map of the Japanese Garden located at the entrance of the park

To wrap it up, once you are in Jurong East, don’t dare not to visit this place as this is worth of your time. The place is very well maintained and imitates the feeling as if you were transported directly to Japan as the high art of Japanese gardening technique is well replicated in here. It's 'remarkably stunning' I may say! In addition, please don’t miss the ‘sundial’ in front of the traditional house as well. I found out through its description that it is one of the ten sundial installed around Singapore in April 2007 in support of Singapore Science Centre's initiative to increase interest in Science. Under this initiative "Our Solar System", the sundial at the Japanese Garden represents Venus whilst the one at the Chinese Garden represents Earth. 

sundial that represents Venus

So there you go, hope you like what I wrote. Should you require more information please leave a note and I'll be happy to share it with you guys. Me and Balong bid our adiue to the park with "sayonara, mata aimasyou (さようなら、また会いましょう)", with the hope to see the place again in the future.

Lush bamboo garden in replacement of Japanese Cherry blossom =)

Cheeriiioooossss!!


Our trip to Jurong Bird Park the largest Bird Sanctuary will be my next post...

Enan signing off…….. :)

:)