{"id":759,"date":"2008-03-10T21:47:42","date_gmt":"2008-03-10T12:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-03-10\/759"},"modified":"2008-03-10T21:47:42","modified_gmt":"2008-03-10T12:47:42","slug":"out-of-season-kenrokuen-gardens-of-kanazawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-03-10\/759","title":{"rendered":"Out of Season: Kenrokuen Gardens of Kanazawa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>180 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nLots Going On at the Kenrokuen Gardens<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

As I\nmentioned<\/span><\/a> earlier, we made a short<\/span> trip to Kanazawa the other day.\nAmong the area's attractions are the Kenrokuen\nGardens<\/a> one of the so-called “three famous gardens” in Japan. It dates<\/span> back to the 1600s, although its present state was formed later, in the mid\n1800s.<\/p>\n\n

It's famous for its beauty in the snow, and according to pictures I've\nseen it's pretty amazing in the spring, summer, and fall as well. Early\nmarch – with no snow and no flowers – is perhaps not the best\ntime to visit, but we enjoyed it nevertheless.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Throughout the gardens, as everywhere in Kanazawa, most pine trees (and\nmany kinds of larger plant life, for that matter) are adorned with bamboo\nand twine in various configurations, ostensibly to protect the tree from\ndamage due to heavy snow. The most common<\/span> method is a tall<\/span> central pole of\nbamboo, with ropes of twine running out to the branches. As the branches<\/span>\ngrow heavy with snow, the ropes and pole help support the weight.<\/p>\n\n

Occasionally, one sees other things protected with layers of straw mats,\nalong the lines of the freaky plant<\/a> I once<\/span>\nposted about:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>45 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nStill Ready for the Snow<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I suppose that's a stone lantern under cover. On either<\/span> side of it, you\ncan see two large posts supporting the large pine tree next to it. Oddly,\nwe didn't see any of the tree snuggies<\/a> that are so\ncommon in Kyoto.<\/p>\n\n

Upon arrival in Kanazawa and seeing these kinds of things absolutely\neverywhere, it becomes clear that all these botanical accoutrements are\noften more for their form than their function. They've made quite an art\nout of it over the years, although the ones seen in the Kenrokuen Gardens\nare on the simple, subdued side of things.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nAnonymous Path #137<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

We had time to see only a small part of the gardens, so if we ever go\nback during a more<\/span> “in season” season, I'd plan for<\/span> a lot<\/span> more time to\nexplore and enjoy. Still, there were plenty of calm, serene areas to\nenjoy.<\/p>\n\n

Still awaiting spring, most colors were rather bland. However, there was\nan especially rich area of green moss, which made a nice<\/span> backdrop to the\nfirst deep pink plum blossoms that had appeared...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>60 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nHint of Spring<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 17 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>60 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nHouse of Some Sort<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>750 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nSending a Photo<\/span> to Anthony & Obaachan<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 160 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nBudding Attraction<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>90 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nAnonymous Path #021<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 18 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nWaterfall and Naked Stone Lantern<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nExtended Reach<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The support for the branch above is likely required for the heavy burden\nof blossoms the tree will have in about a month.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I mentioned earlier, we made a short trip to Kanazawa the other day. Among the area's attractions are the Kenrokuen Gardens one of the so-called \"three famous gardens\" in Japan. It dates back to the 1600s, although its present state was formed later, in the mid 1800s.<\/p>

It's famous for its beauty in the snow, and according to pictures I've seen it's pretty amazing in the spring, summer, and fall as well. Early march – with no snow and no flowers – is perhaps not the best time to visit, but we enjoyed it nevertheless.<\/p>

Throughout the gardens, as [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}