Kagawa - Takamatsu: Ritsurin Garden (1)🌟

🌇🌿Ritsurin Garden is one of the most famous attractions in Takamatsu and Shikoku, rated with the highest three stars by the Michelin Travel Guide—there are only two such places in the entire Shikoku region (the other being Dogo Onsen). 🌟 In the past, although not one of the "Three Great Gardens," it was explicitly stated in the Meiji-era elementary school textbooks that "the beauty of the wooden and stone garden surpasses the three great gardens." 🌇🌿 In modern times, it is also known as the "third best garden in Japan" outside of the Adachi Museum of Art and Katsura Imperial Villa. 🌟Despite its prominent reputation, the actual experience was somewhat underwhelming—using the correct meaning of the idiom, "just so so." Perhaps the large crowds ruined the atmosphere, or maybe the withered lawns affected the ambiance. 🌇🌿 This largest strolling garden in Japan felt to me like the plump, clumsy, and lazy koi carp in the park ponds—big but lacking in charm. #Takamatsu 🌇🌿