The slowly growing grass, and deeply growing trees. English style gardens are created to let nature live as it is. It is a culture born to counter the French style gardens which pursue more artificial beauty.
Long ago a British poet stated that, “creating a garden is the same as painting a landscape.” At that time in England landscape paintings were prevalent among aristocrats, and artists often portrayed a scene close to reality. To create an untarnished garden, the paintings avoided unnaturally straight lines and instead utilized curved lines. The Shinjuku Gyoen English style garden is the same. Do you know the main difference between English style and Japanese style gardens? English style presents nature at a life size scale, while Japanese style symbolizes nature on a miniature scale.
Shinjuku, Shinjuku. “Whoosh” goes the sound of a train door. When you enter, it’s almost like you have to take a deep breath before diving underwater. Finally you get off a packed train and you can once again take in air. Inside the station you are engulfed by the wave of people, and you are exhaled from the mouth of station.
If you look up at the sky, Tokyo’s air can even seem thin. Surrounded by the skyscrapers your breath becomes restricted. At times like this you want to head to Shinjuku Gyoen. Going around the park’s Shinjuku gate you plan to just continue home but there is something that is guiding you to the park. The sky you see from the grassy area is vast and large. With all your strength you suck in the fresh air. 360 degrees--everywhere you look is blue sky. Stretching both hands out you want to rotate your body. It is like you are re-calibrating a compass, in order to not lose sight of the way you should be going.