Sorakuen Garden

Sorakuen Garden

Sorakuen Garden (相楽園) in Nakayamatedori, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, is a Japanese garden owned by Kobe City in which three structures are designated as an Important Cultural Property: the former Hassam Residence of 1902, the former Kodera Family Stables of about 1907 and the Funayakata, a boat cabin of the mid-Edo period (Agency for Cultural Affairs). All three are owned by the city.

Kobe City notes that Sorakuen is the only modern Japanese garden among its parks, covering 1.4 hectares.

The Three Structures

The former Hassam Residence is a foreigner's house built in Kitano by the Englishman Hassam to designs by Hansell, one of the finest in Kobe (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The former Kodera stables, attributed to Kawai Kozo, are two-storey brick stables with a spiral stair tower, carriages and horses below and rooms for grooms and coachmen above (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Funayakata is the cabin of the river pleasure barge used by the lords of Himeji in the Edo period, moved into Sorakuen in 1980 and kept on land (Kobe City); it is said to be the only river barge of its kind left in Japan. Within the Japanese garden stand a Meiji Western house, brick stables and an Edo barge cabin. Each structure is described on its own page.

Visiting

According to Kobe City, the garden is open from 9:00 to 17:00 and closed on Thursdays, except during the azalea and chrysanthemum seasons, and an admission fee is charged. The Funayakata cannot be entered; on opening days its interior is viewed from a platform outside.