Nasu Salt Garden, a popular tourist destination near Tokyo

The water garden is one of Junya Ishigami's masterpieces. I chose it because I love searching for niche travel destinations and I don't want to be crowded in Tokyo during long holidays. It has become my favorite attraction in this Tokyo trip!






I feel that if you have an architectural background or are in Tokyo and want to find a weekend trip around, it is a good place to spend a day. The air is good and the construction quality is excellent. There are also some interesting works and courses in the glass artist workshop in the small park. It's just that the round trip takes a little time, and the free shuttle bus only runs 1-2 times a day, which is really not very convenient.

The story of Nasu Water Garden

The garden consists of 318 trees and ponds that were transplanted over a period of four years. The area is mainly composed of highly permeable volcanic ash soil, and has always had water problems for agricultural irrigation. Therefore, here you can see small streams or wells that are introduced by river diversions. The location of the water garden used to be a rice field, but later it became a field for growing pasture grass after the farmland was left fallow. Junya Ishigami used the wells from the past rice farming period to introduce water to the water garden. After observing and studying each tree, he determined the types, characteristics, and crown sizes of the 318 trees, and finally interspersed each tree between about 160 ponds of different sizes.



The Water Garden is actually a part of Art Biotop. This settlement has a hotel (divided into single-family houses and apartments), glass and ceramic artist workshops (you can make appointments for related workshops and buy artists' handmade works), a restaurant (suspected to be under renovation and not open) and a coffee shop. In general, the building feels very small and exquisite (it even snows in winter!). Although it is a bit difficult to evaluate the cost-effectiveness, it does not prevent it from being a good experience of getting close to nature.



The main building of Art Biotop is made of exposed concrete + white box, which is very clean and refreshing.


I bought a glass bubble and a glass bottle haha ​​(these two pictures I took with my phone are ugly because I didn’t have a camera to take pictures)

Detailed guide information
Name of attraction: Nasu Art Biotop
Duration of visit: One-day tour recommended
Accommodation is 3,000-6,000 yen per night, which is a bit low in terms of cost performance
Water garden ticket: 2,970 yen/person
Includes round-trip shuttle bus, postcards, and water garden guide
Book in advance on the official website
https://www.artbiotop.jp/en/

There is definitely one on weekends, but the opening hours on weekdays are uncertain, so check the official website.
There are 3 shuttle buses every day, and it takes about 15 minutes to arrive.
10:00/12:30/14:30 (10:00 on weekdays is cancelled)
11:10/13:10/15:10
So in fact, considering the tour time, it would be more appropriate for those without a car to choose the 12:30 bus, the 14:00 tour, and the 15:10 return trip.
Nearby attractions: N's Yard Nara Yoshitomo Museum is more than a dozen kilometers away, and you can ask the staff to call a car to arrive

Transportation:
Take the Shinkansen to Nasu Shiobara Station
Take the shuttle bus for 15 minutes up the mountain (need to book together with the ticket)
Take the express train from Tokyo Ueno to Nasu Station, it is about 550 yuan round trip, about one and a half hours

Notes:
1. If you drive yourself, it will be much more convenient, because the water garden is actually open and you don’t need to buy a ticket.
2. After November 30, the entire biotop seems to be under renovation until March next year, so don’t go there empty-handed.