I have always loved the Japanese sense of design for its well-planned simplicity, serenity, purposefulness, and calm order. This is most evident in their gardens, one of the things I most wanted to see during my visit to the country. I spent an overcast morning touring the small village of Chiran just outside the port city of Kagoshima, beneath the majestic Sakurajima, an active volcano that dominates the area on a clear day. Said to be like a miniature Kyoto, Chiran is home to the well-preserved 250-year old residences, moss-covered walls and gardens of the samurai during Japan’s feudal period. Today, samurai descendants live in some of the estates and many of the gardens are open to the public. Each garden is an excellent example of ‘borrowed landscaping” where the surrounding mountains and scenery are an integral part of the garden design.

Samurai Lane, Chiran, Japan

Samurai Gate, Chiran, Japan

Samurai Garden, Chiran, Japan

Nearby was the Peace Museum, dedicated to the young kamikaze pilots who trained near Chiran before embarking on suicide missions against Allied sea vessels in WWII. Stone lanterns line the streets leading to the museum, for each of the suicide pilots. The museum commemorates the sacrifice of these men and makes a plea for peace, a combination of sentiments I found both sad and disturbing.

Kagoshima’s shopping district of Tenmonkan is the bustling heartbeat of the city in an enclosed maze of shops, restaurants, and pachinko parlors where, in high contrast to the western style of the local urban shoppers, you will also find boutiques from which to choose silks for hand-tailored custom traditional kimono.

In this place, the past and the present live comfortably together in unspoken harmony.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.