A Fall Visit to Yokokan Garden
Enjoying seasonal illuminations at one of Japan’s best gardens.
Cover photo: Night view of Yokokan Garden illuminated in fall, Fukui, Japan (2025). Photo by Danny With Love.
Intro
Yokokan Garden (養浩館庭園) — an Edo period villa and traditional garden — is one of Fukui’s best attractions. The site consistently ranks among the top ten gardens in Japan, according to the American Journal of Japanese Gardening (Sukiya Living Magazine) — “The garden is good, but the building is fabulous.”
The villa is considered an exemplary model of sukiya-zukuri (数寄屋造り) or traditional teahouse architecture. It’s especially wonderful because it appears to float on the central pond. Just a ten-minute walk from Fukui Station, Yokokan Garden is the perfect spot to relax and admire the changing of the seasons.
History of Yokokan Garden
Built in the early 17th century, Yokokan Garden was the second home to the Matsudaira clan, rulers of Fukui under the Tokugawa shogunate. It was first called Osensui Yashiki (御泉水 屋敷) or the Osensui Residence. Along with much of the city, the site was destroyed in the 1945 Fukui Air Raid, during World War II. By 1993, it was restored and opened to the public. Most recently, the villa underwent major renovations in 2023.
Fall Illuminations at Yokokan Garden
Visitors can now admire fall foliage at the garden with evening illuminations, comprising some 60 lights and 40 lanterns. This year, the pond will be lit from 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays through November 30th.
I visited last Saturday, November 8th. It was a sunny day, so the garden was crowded with people, including both locals and foreigners. The pine trees are already covered with yukitsuri (protective snow-hangings) for winter but the fall leaves have been slow to arrive this year. Nevertheless, the garden was beautiful, presenting a scene colored in red, green, and blue.
Access to Yokokan Garden
Yokokan Garden is a ten-minute walk from Fukui Station, easily accessed by the Hokuriku Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo. Admission to the garden is 220 yen (approx. 1.5 USD).
Fukui Reporter Disclosure
As part of the Fukui Reporter program, I am tasked with participating in local events and publicly promoting the prefecture. This is a volunteer position that allows me free entrance to a selection of museums throughout the area. The opinions I share are my own.
