Koi pond.
















Wow -- isn't this beautiful?

















Dragonfly on the edge of a pond.

Wow, if we hadn't walked up this hill, we would never have known this beautiful garden was here!

Closeup of pink azalea.
















Looking over a pond toward the yellow hillside.
















Water iris.

Water irises




















A Godzilla tower . . .

















This little girl was very interested in us.

One last look back -- maybe we're not so scary after all . . .?

















White callas for Holly . . .
















Little boys on the rocks in the pond.

Beautiful pink waterlillies.

According to the map, this side of the hill is covered with cherry trees. We'll have to come back in April when they're all in bloom!

















It looked to us like this little girl ("The Heather") was telling the others to get out or they were going to get into big trouble . . .
















Beautiful hillside with azaleas & little blue flowers.

Closeup of blue flowers

















Rocks in the water iris garden.

Margie on a bridge overlooking water irises.




















Look closely -- As the lower bamboo pipe fills up with water, it flips back and dumps it in a different area of the pond. Cool, huh?

Stone frog hiding in a pond.
















Stan at the top of the rocks -- of course!

















Standing on a bridge over a small river.

A family under the shade of a tree in this patio area.
















Ladies enjoying shade under this small gazebo.


















Dogwood tree still blooming!

Hmmm, only mad dogs & Englishmen are usually out in the hot sun this time of day . . .




















The parasol on the right is actually made of a reflective material to keep the sun away.















A few azaleas still blooming. I love that the flower seasons seem to overlap here in Japan.

Looking back toward the yellow terraced hillside, over the iris garden & a bridge. We've turned around and are heading back down the other side of the little stream.































There were many family groups here today enjoying the beautiful sunny day.

Little children headed up the stairs with their hoola hoops.
















Closeup of a very fragrant rose.

















Roses below the yellow hillside. It's difficult to express in a photo just how beautiful and fragrant this was!

Outside the gift shop, there were some ladies looking up. Look at the four little heads!
















When their mama came to feed them, they really opened up! Below the nest, there was newspaper with barracades around it, so no one would walk underneath . . .

















Inside the gift shop, there was a window at the top of the vaulted ceiling with a good view of the yellow flowers on the hillside above.

Terraced parking lot as we drive out. At the "bottom" (nearest the street) is the bicycle parking.
















Beautiful flowers out in front.
















I've never seen snapdragons this big!

After we left, we were ready for lunch so we found a nice soba shop. Although I'm not crazy about noodles, I was not able to order any lunch set without them. However, my fresh salad, tempura shrimp & veggies were delicious & enough to fill me up . . . Stan had hot noodles & curry.