Suizenji Park - Free Entry For One More Week

Another post about Suizenji Koen  (水前寺公園 - Suizenji Park) in Kumamoto, just to remind you all that it is free entry until the end of this month. The park sustained a fair bit of damage in the earthquake, and the most noticable was that the water drained away from the pond - the top beauty point of the park. While much reduced compared to usual, the pond does have water in it again, and repair works are under way. If you have been to Suizenji before you might notice that the large torii (archway) at the entrance to the temple has gone. The small shops that open in the summer (cafes and souvenir shops I presume - I've never seem them open) also took some damage.

Seeing as you'l be saving money on the entrance fee, consider spending your Yen at one of the souvenir shops near the main entrance - some of the shops have been unable to reopen since the earthquake and I'm sure that the ones that have opened would be grateful for your business. If you haven't tried one yet, you could purchase an ikinari dango いきなりだんご - these snacks are famous in Kumamoto and Suizenji Park area is the best place to try one. They're oh-so Japanese (honestly, I'm not a big fan...) but you should certainly give it a go if you haven't tried one yet!

Alternatively, inside the park is a lovely little tea house which is recognisable by its thatched roof, which thankfully survived the earthquake in tact. With a prime view of the park and the pond, purchase a match tea set for 550 Yen (100 Yen extra if you want to sit inside rather than in the garden area) which comes with a cup of fresh, foamy matcha green tea and a small Japanese sweet. Usually there are two sweets to choose from (a fruity wafer and a creamy white one) but they only had the fruity one when I visited this week.

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