Fukushen Gardens

The Fukushen Gardens (Fukushu En Park) are located in the heart of Naha.  This Chinese garden was given as a gift from Naha's sister city, Fuzhou City of China, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of their friendship.  The gardens are split into three sections:  Fall & Winter, Summer, and Spring.  Each section boasts landscaping and architectural features representative of their season.

Fall & Winter

By far my favorite portion of the gardens (also my favorite seasons in real life).  This section contained a large central pond and a circular pathway.  There were also many other pathways that branched off and took you to other smaller scenes throughout.

The main scene is that of the pond, bridge, and waterfall.  

Once you walk around to the waterfall, you can climb the rocky stairways to sit in the gazebo on top, meander through the cave-like pathways underneath and look out from beneath the waterfall, or you can hop stones in front of the waterfall.

The waterfall flows out into the pond but also feeds a smaller pond just to its left that is a tranquil sitting place.  O really enjoyed watching some of the turtles up close here.

We were also able to find a vending machine where you can buy boxes of food for only a couple hundred yen to feed the fish and turtles.  I'm not sure O understood the concept, but she definitely showed enthusiasm throwing the food into the water.  Whether she realized the fish were eating them or not... I have no idea.  I loved watching the fish eat the food.  It was like a frenzied rainbow flitting about and shimmering in the sunlight.

Summer

Spring






 No matter where you are in this garden, pay attention to the details.  See the picture below?  That is the roof to the gazebo on the left.  You'd totally miss it if you didn't look up!