Photos: Kobun-tei Pavillion, Kairaku-en Park, Mito, Japan

Inspired by some recent posts on Steemit (Japan Photo Blog by kafkanarchy84, My Ryokan Experience by shinge3 etc.), I've decided to start posting some of my Japan-related photos. Most of these are already on my Flickr account (https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholas_sikorski/) but I reckon that as Flickr now belongs to Yahoo, I'd be much better off sharing them here.

I took these photos when on a trip to the Kairaku-en 偕楽園 Park in Mito 水戸市, Ibaraki 茨城県 Prefecture. One of the three most famous gardens in Japan, the Kairaku-en was created in 1841 by Tokugawa Nariaki 徳川斉昭, a relative of the Shogun. Whilst the park is perhaps most famous for its plum trees and landscaped garden, I was most impressed by the Kobun-tei 好文亭 Pavillion (I visited in October, hardly the season for plum trees...), a two-storey traditional Japanese building erected in the grounds as a place for rest and parties. I studied Japanese architecture as a postgrad in London, so I guess I'm biased, but I did really like the rooms: all those polished floors, straw tatami 畳 mats, bamboo and Japanese paper shoji 障子 screens and painted fusuma 襖 sliding doors really do make the visit worthwhile.

Hope you like the photos: let me know what you think!