Makino Botanical Garden (Makino Shokubutsuen)

Makino Botanical Garden (Makino Shokubutsuen) Review

The city's best attraction lies away from downtown Kochi. The Makino Botanical Garden, an Eden-like valley of flowers and trees hidden atop the mountain Godaisan. Different trails for each season show off the best nature has to offer. Hours disappear as you walk through the azaleas, camellias, chrysanthemums, and thousands of other plants in this huge and lovingly tended landscape (don't miss the giant ferns, so big you can actually sit in them). You're encouraged to leave the paths and explore on your own—for "to commune with nature we need to make ourselves free and jump into her," wrote botanist Tomitaro Makino, for whom the garden was planted. You'll find more of his quotes, recollections, philosophy, and drawings in a fascinating museum inside the park.