Sengan-en Garden is one of Kagoshima’s representative tourist attractions, registered as a component of the World Cultural Heritage in 2015.
Within its vast 50,000-square-meter grounds, visitors will find a variety of historical, cultural, and natural attractions.
A must-see is the beautiful garden designed with “borrowed scenery” and the mansions where feudal lords once lived.
Borrowed scenery refers to a technique of creating a garden by incorporating nature outside the garden site, such as mountains, forests, bamboo groves, the sea, rivers, and waterfalls, as elements of the garden. Therefore, unlike other daimyo’s gardens, Senganen Garden does not have a large pond or artificial hill, but instead has a large scale garden with Kinko Bay as a pond and majestic Sakurajima as an artificial hill.
The “Imperial Apartments,” where the lords spent most of their time, such as for settling documents and having lunch, are the most beautiful places to view the garden as a whole. Please enjoy not only the beautiful decorations inside the mansion, but also the beautiful view that the lords once enjoyed from their rooms.
Another of the highlights is the “Tin Gate” (Suzumon), which was the main gate during the Edo period. Only feudal lords and their heirs were allowed to pass through this vermilion-lacquered gate, a symbol of their high status. You too can feel like a feudal lord as you pass through the gate.
Senganen also offers a special menu that will make you feel like a samurai. You can try on authentic armor and transform yourself into a samurai in body and soul! You can also dress up as a lord or a princess.
There are also rare and authentic kimonos, such as those of a lord or a princess, that can only be worn here. How about spending an elegant moment in the garden as if you were a lord or a princess in a colorful kimono?
Photographers are able to take pictures in the historic Japanese garden overlooking Sakurajima.
There are also a variety of cultural activities such as “Satsuma facet cutting,” “Satsuma porcelain painting,” and “archery” that are unique to Senganen. Satsuma faceting” is a glass craft created by a great lord at the end of the Edo period, and visitors can experience it under the guidance of a craftsman.
The Satsuma faceted glass factory, which is open for tours, is located next to the park and is recommended as a stopover spot.
The spacious park is filled with seasonal flowers, a walking trail with small shrines, and even an area where visitors can enjoy hiking.
There are also various sightseeing spots nearby, such as “Sakurajima Lava Nagisa Park Footbath” where you can enjoy a spectacular view of Sakurajima, “Sakurajima Ferry” where you can sometimes encounter dolphins, and “Sakurajima Magma Hot Spring” where you can bathe while viewing Kinko’s Bay. Please take your time and enjoy the charms of Kagoshima.
SENGAN – EN
Opening hours: 9:00-17:00 (open all year round)
Location: 9700-1 Yoshino-cho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, 892-0871
phone number: 099-247-1551
Senganen Garden https://www.senganen.jp/
Cover Photo Credit：鹿児島県観光連盟
