Kyoto Garden

Kyoto Garden. Ewan Munro/cc by-sa 2.0

Among the many lovely features of west London’s Holland Park is a beautiful Japanese garden gifted to the British capital by the city of Kyoto in 1991 to commemorate the longstanding friendship between England and Japan.

The garden was designed by renowned Japanese landscape architects, who created a stunning green space marked by a large and beautiful pond fed by a tiered waterfall. The pond is surrounded by stone lanterns and lush plants native to Japan. A small bridge crosses over the water, while shoals of colorful koi carp swim below. Lurking around the vegetation in search of insects is a beautiful flock of (fairly tame) peacocks.

The garden’s Japanese maple trees are particularly visually striking during the autumn months, when their leaves turn a rich golden red color casting the garden in crimson hues. And in springtime, the Sakura trees’ cherry blossoms bloom exuberantly with thousands of pink petals.

Know Before You Go

Holland Park is open every day from 7:30 a.m. until a half hour before dusk, and is free to the public. The nearest tube stations are Holland Park and Notting Hill stations, which are within a short walking distance of the park. There is an accessible entrance to the garden, but watch out for the unfenced bridge across the waterfall.

The path, especially in and around the waterfall, is made of irregular stones. No dogs allowed.