Tour one of the Top Japanese Gardens in North America: Nitobe Memorial Garden
Considered to be one of the top five most authentic Japanese gardens located outside of Japan, the Nitobe Memorial Garden at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver incorporates every shade of green imaginable. The garden is full of moss, ferns growing in water, and sunlight streaming through maple leaves overhead. Come and join me on my tour of this peaceful place.
Dr. Inazo Nitobe was an influential scholar who devoted his work to promoting relations between the United States and Japan, and was one of the first Japanese people to study at an American university. The garden was created as a memorial to Dr. Nitobe and the bridge he strove to create between Japanese and North American culture.
This bridge between cultures is partially represented in the plants chosen for the garden, including many native plants, as well as irises, azaleas, and cherry trees from Japan.
Sunlight streams through the maples, creating dappled light on the mossy ground.
The garden has a beginning and an end with multiple paths to choose from in between, representative of moving through time. The winding pathways and structured bridges create a sense of movement and progress as you make your way through the space.
The zig-zag bridge represents a crossing that…
