Most Beautiful Japanese Garden in the World - Adachi Museum

Adachi Museum needs little introduction. Rated 3-stars by the Michelin Guide, perennially named the world's best Japanese garden by experts at the Journal of Japanese Gardening, and simply one of the premier attractions on the San'in Coast. Its worthiness for a day-trip was beyond question to us, but reaching this remote destination did take some planning.



First off we're on the San'in Coast, one of the regions of Japan least visited by foreigners. We settled into our homebase at the seafood capital of Matsue and visited Adachi Museum as a day-trip along with picturesque Kurayoshi. Another option would be to skip Kurayoshi and pick Sakaiminato for the combined day-trip, but that would be better suited for Anime fans.



So we visited Kurayoshi in the morning and arrived at the closest station of Yasugi by mid afternoon. From Yasugi Station the museum operates a free shuttle roughly every 30 minutes, taking 15-20 minutes to arrive at the museum. The shuttle bus was a 20-seater and full capacity was not inconceivable during peak season, which led to our Plan B, a community shuttle (known as the Yellow Bus; schedule available on the Japanese side of Adachi Museum's website) that ran less frequently.



The first thing we did upon arrival, even before buying a ticket, was to snatch up reservation cards for the coveted seats on the return bus! We took our spots on the second last bus at 16:45, though in retrospect I would have loved that extra 30 minutes offered by the final bus.



Remember to bring your passport as foreigners get 50% off the steep 2300 yen admission! Apparently so few non-Japanese discover this region that the government is subsidizing the tourism industry to bring in more visitors. The discount of 1150 yen is so ridiculous that the museum doesn't even advertise it on their website, though most foreigners making it this far already know.



Once inside the museum nothing could take our eyes offs its legendary garden beyond the glass windows, some of which could be opened for that perfect shot. The corridor would circled the entire first floor, offering a slightly different view of the garden every few steps. 60 minutes on this floor was not enough for me.



I'm usually NOT a fan of art museums -- most paintings put me to sleep, I'm sorry to say. But here I actually wished for more time inside an art museum, perhaps for the first time ever. There was something about the impeccable composition of Yokoyama Taikan and Sakakibara Shiho that really connected to me. Besides an entire room devoted to Yokoyama Taikan, another highlight for me was the exquisite collection of traditional houseware and furniture pieces. The only possible gripe was that no photos were allowed in the exhibition halls.



And of course, no venturing into the meticulously manicured gardens aside from this small courtyard on the backside of the museum. Otherwise the garden wouldn't have been so immaculate with my presence.



For an unhurried hour to fully appreciate the beauty of this living picture frame, the museum cafe offers front row seats for the premium of 1000 yen, with choices of Espressos or Matcha Lattes. Lunches of Wagyu Beef Curry could be had for a reasonable 1200 yen, though that would be served at a side restaurant without the prime panoramic view.



Expect crowds! We waded through the corridors alongside hundreds of Japanese tourists, mostly arriving on organized tours from Kansai and some from as faraway as Tohoku. At the end of our 90 minutes we took the shuttle bus back to Yasugi Station, where a quick 20 minutes on the Express Train brought us back to Matsue for a seasonal dinner of Matsuba-gani crabs.



In retrospect we should have spent more than just 90 minutes at one of my favorite museums anywhere, perhaps even a half day, to properly appreciate both the garden AND the exhibits. A morning visit and lunch at the museum, moving to Kurayoshi in the afternoon and a dinner of Ramen in Beef Bone Broth before returning to Matsue would have been optimal ... but then we would have missed our snow crab dinner!

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