You have probably heard that Japan is mountainous. Well, it is. Despite what you may think, being mountainous has its advantages. For one, when you build something on the mountainside you get a spectacular view.
Handayama Botanical Garden in Okayama uses this advantage to the fullest. Established in 1964, the garden is not far from Okayama University and the Asahi River. You can get there easily from Okayama Station by taking the Tsuyama line to Hokain Station, then walking about 600 meters to the entrance. There are signs posted along the way.
At the entrance to the park there is a reception area and an amphitheater full of pink and violet flowers. I walked up the stairs through the flowers in the audience and made my way up a path through the mountainside that was paved like the Wizard of Oz without the yellow. There were sunflowers of various heights and sizes, the tallest preparing to grasp the lattice of supports prepared to hold its weight at full growth.
There were herbs of all variety, including the peculiar curry plant that makes your hands smell of the dish after you rub it. Bamboo shoots sprung from the ground like a scene from a Japanese fairytale. Hydrangea dominates the landscape in the summer but spring gives over to millions of cherry blossoms.
Upon reaching the highest point I dared venture, I took the path that wraps around the park. Here you can see the imported North American pine trees that tower over everything. Continuing down the path there was a dense bamboo forest that I was told is popular with tourists. I reached the lookout point and saw an all too familiar view of Okayama City from a new angle.
There was a brick waterworks that has received some attention because brick structures are not so common in Japan. I came upon the greenhouse enclosures that are home to a variety of tropical plants and cacti. There were a variety of lily pads but one from Uruguay was simply other worldly. An alabaster statue of a Chinese goddess stood in the center of one of the lower gardens. It seems that she was beckoning the plants beneath her feet to bloom again.
