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Bonsai Park This is almost certainly the best collection of Bonsai trees and Japanese landscaping to be seen anywhere in the world. The bonsai village at Omiya, northeast of Tokyo has devoted itself entirely to the art of growing and propagating minuscule trees for eighty years. The village established itself in 1923, fillowing the Tokyo earthquake that had destroyed the city's bonsai population and ruined the bonsai artist population. It was decided that they would start anew in an area with spacious land, clean water and fresh air. Today a large area to the north of Omiya Park is set aside exclusively for the growing and training of bonsai plants. It may seem surprising, but it's worth mentioning that photography is not allowed in the bonsai village. Tourists are given a guided tour of the gardens, and quite a bit of that time is spent practicing the idiosyncrasies of Japanese etiquette - tea must be taken and polite conversation made - with discussions on the specific nature of the bonsai being one of the main topics of conversation - as you might expect. It's a delightful and thoroughly absorbing aspect of Japanese culture not to be missed. One could spend many happy hours getting lost in this fascinating miniature world. |