Holland Park’s Kyoto Garden
The main view of the Kyoto Garden when facing the waterfall. 1/1.6s 70mm F16 Ektachrome 100 Nikon F100.
Like a lot of other people, I took up some extra hobbies in order keep myself sane during the lockdowns. One of those things was to begin learning Japanese, something I’d wanted to do as a kid. Following on from that I started to search for Japanese related things in the UK. However, the UK doesn’t have the long term, deep connections with Japan that it has with Hong Kong and so there’s not as much to find in comparison. However, something I stumbled upon after a trip to the Design Museum a few years ago was the Kyoto Garden at Holland Park. This time armed with my film cameras I decided to get up early to beat the crowds and enjoy this small slice of Japan in peace.
Looking down the garden from the waterfall bridge. 1/1.6s 70mm F16 Ektachrome 100 Nikon F100.
An example of one of the garden’s stone lanterns. 1/2s 90mm F16 Ektachrome 100 Nikon F100.
Opened in 1991 as a gift from the city of Kyoto to commemorate the long history of friendly relations between the UK and Japan. It was designed and built by a Japanese designer and his team, and the project was run in conjunction with the Royal Borough of Kensington and the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce Japan. There is also a more recent addition (which I didn’t photograph), the Fukushima Memorial Garden which was opened in 2012 in recognition of the support the British people gave in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The garden itself is not very big, it is something you could walk around in a few minutes, but to do that would be to miss the point. It’s somewhere you need to take your time to appreciate and breath in the details.
A close-up of the tiered waterfall. 1/2s 80mm F16 Fuji Pro 400H Bronica SQ-A.
One of the many cherry trees in the garden, the trees produce a beautiful pink blossom in spring. 1/8s 80mm F11 Fuji Pro 400H Bronica SQ-A.
It contains many elements of traditional Japan: a tiered waterfall, stone lanterns, cherry & maple trees and of course a large pond populated by colourful koi carp. Despite its size it does get very popular during the day (as my photo further down from my first visit shows) and it is not uncommon for queues to form at the Waterfall for photos. Therefore, I got on an early train at a weekend to be there when Holland Park first opened. I was there for about an hour, and when leaving I could see the number of people ticking up and garden staff even turned up to stop people doing unauthorised filming and to prevent people queueing on the bridge by the waterfall.
In this shot you can see the colourful koi swimming in the pond in the foreground. 1/8s 80mm F11 Fuji Pro 400H Bronica SQ-A.
The plant life makes for pretty reflections on the water. 1/8s 150mm F16 Fuji Pro 400H Bronica SQ-A.
Unless you are a real Japanophile then perhaps a trip to London just to see the Kyoto Garden is a bit much due to its small size, but the rest of Holland Park is also a very scenic place and there are other Japanese cultural centres to visit in the big city that are just a short tube ride away. The best time to go is either springtime for the cherry blossom or autumn for the vibrant warm colours of the maples, but it will provide a bit of tranquility no matter what time of year you visit.
An example of the queues that can form during peak hours, which block the view of the waterfall. 1/200s 45mm F4 ISO 64 Nikon D850.
Artists are also drawn to the garden as there is plenty of creative inspiration to be found. 1/200s 52mm F4 ISO 64 Nikon D850.
Another close-up of the tiered waterfall. 1/2.5s 50mm F11 Ektachrome 100 Nikon F100.
Arriving early gave me a clear unobstructed view of the main garden feature. 1/4s 150mm F16 Fuji Pro 400H Bronica SQ-A.
The garden is well worth a visit if you want to see a small slice of Japan in the UK. 1/8s 150mm F8.0 Fuji Pro 400H Bronica SQ-A.
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