SuihoEn Japenese Garden

[Lizette Bernal]

Earlier this month I went to the SuihoEn Japenese Garden where my sister got engaged! It was beautiful and very peaceful, and also very green. There’s plenty of cultural references and pieces about the Japenese lifestyle and traditions. I learned that there’s a Shoin Building where people take courses on tea etiquette (which is what my sister was told she was doing). This course is intended to give people the high-class experience of those in Japan. I was told by one of the tour guides that only the wealthy and/or those with a superior title would have tea in Shoin buildings - super cool! The language to the name of some of the statues and area of the Japenese Garden is purposeful. For example, there’s a Log bridge that is meant to have four foundation stones but because the words “four” and “death” sound similar in Japanese, they’ve added a fifth stone in hopes to avoid bad luck. I’d like to arrange for one of the tea courses they offer. I’ll post what I learned!