Most of the gardens were built in the 17th century by gardeners brought from Kyoto for the purpose. Each garden is designed to be viewed from the house, but unfortunately none of the houses are open to the public as most are still lived in, but all seven gardens can be viewed from within the grounds. Since 1975 the gardens have been maintained by a Preservation Society, and though small they are quite exquisite. They are registered as National Cultural assets. Six are of the karesansui, dry style, one of which is quite unusual being composed almost completely of trimmed bushes.

知覧武家屋敷通り

Fascinating look at a samurai village. Having a guide really made a difference in understanding the gardens and how/why they are designed and constructed.

The surrounding parks are just as beautiful as the core residential area. It's an amazing place to experience if you are in Kagoshima, ticket to the karesansui gardens is 530 yen

Fantastic piece of history as everything has stayed in place since they were built, the English signs were full of great information about each house and garden, you can use the QR code to listen to it but no need to waste time, just enjoy being there. Conned into paying to “go inside” when it’s so quiet that nobody would notice but they say staff need to see the ticket at each garden but also it’s just to see the garden and not inside the houses, they’re just for storage now.

Lovely stroll on a beautiful autumn morning. Use QR code to get English narration for each of the seven samurai houses. Be patient with the lack of English signage and you will be rewarded. Highly recommended!

Inside the samurai residence you can visit seven houses, but you can enter to the gardens only. Gardens are so beautiful with flowers. You can take a look from outside to inside of the houses in few places. There are coffee shops and restaurants too. Parking is free of charge.

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