Suizen-ji Jōju-en (or, how to pet a carp)

"Now," says the venerable Vaunter, hitching up his trousers, "I've seen my share of gardens."

And he's not lying. I love gardens. I go to 'em wherever I can. Wherever they are, I'll find them. Parks and gardens are as high as museums and towers on my list of must-see things to judge a culture by. They're quiet, peaceful, naturally beautiful places where you can recharge your travel batteries. It's absurdly easy to get a good photograph, and you can get an idea of the importance the local culture puts on landscaping and botanical beauty. I've been to the extensive gardens at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California; looked down upon the Royal Botanic Gardens from my remote perch atop Edinburgh Castle, Scotland; strolled through Yeomiji Botanical Garden on Jeju Island, South Korea; and, of course, photographed the eastern portion of the Imperial Palace Gardens in Tokyo, and the grounds of the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, Japan.

But out of all of them, Suizen-ji Jōju-en in Kumamoto was my favorite. Take a gander:

Ain't it beautiful? I'm starting to see why Lafcadio Hearn put down roots in this town.

As you may have noticed from that one pic up there, this pond was absolutely bursting with carp so huge that they looked like they'd been mutated by nuclear radiation (sorry, too soon?). I could tell they were accustomed to being fed by passersby, 'cause they swarmed wherever my shadow touched the water, mouths agape.

I took advantage of that fact to cop a feel:

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. I felt up a carp. In the Suizen-ji Gardens. In Kumamoto. On Kyushu. That's the kind of person your Vaunter is.

Then I kept walking, snapping the prettiest pics I knew how, making a languorous circuit of the reflecting pool:

 

It was on the home stretch that I came to understand how the carp in this pond got so freaking fat. A couple of little old ladies, one of whom looked to be a hundred and two with hardly a tooth in her head, were selling stale breadsticks to park-goers. I bought one and spent a happy five minutes goading the greedy fish into a feeding frenzy.

And then I waltzed out of there, content as a carp with a mouthful of soggy bread. Back to the tram station and a few stops toward the town center brought me to the last item on my to-do list:

KUMAMOTO CASTLE.

You'll notice that's a tad larger than the other post previews have been. That's because Kumamoto Castle is

GINORMOUSLY

FREAKISHLY

HUGE.

You'll see for yourself, if you have the gumption to tune in tomorrow. C'mon and storm a castle with me.