Atami Akao Herb and Rose Garden
Today we went to the rose garden just outside of Atami in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan. Its a pretty convenient place to get to. We drove from Mishima, but you can get the train to Atami station and then get a bus there also The price is quite high. 1,500 yen in the peak season, 1,000 yen off-peak. Now its the peak season... The garden stretches up a steep valley to the top of a mountain which runs along the coast. The way to the top is simple, get a free bus there and then just walk back down again. After getting off the bus, there's a shrine at the very top and a Japanese garden to see, which wasn't very popular. 
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After that there's a café and a swing, which was the most popular thing of all. I think, because of Instagram, you can get a picture of the sea and the swing only, but there was a huge queue of teens, so we skipped it.
Going downs the valley, there are some lovely scenes, made from the lovely flowers and the surrounding mountains. Some areas are based on English rose gardens, but, in England, the rose gardens are surrounded by flat countryside. Here, the rose garden was surrounded by mountains, so I was very much more impressed with the scenery here over England.
Making your way through the rose gardens, you find yourself eventually in the herb gardens and then after that, back down at the shop and then back on to the main road and the car park.
I think the price is a little expensive, but still, it was a really impressive place, with plenty of gardens cleverly designed and built into the limited space. The highlights are the swing, the roses, the pleasant feeling of the place in general, the sea view with hammocks to rest in, the herbs, and the lavender ice cream, which isn't really lavender flavour and I suppose that's a good thing.
A very nice couple of relaxed hours can be had here enjoying the scenery.
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