A Visit to Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, London

February 2018 · 2 min read · Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

I've travelled to Japan a number of times and I never get tired of strolling through a Japanese garden, there is something so peaceful about it. Obviously living in the UK means the gardens are very different in style and atmosphere, so occasionally when I'm in London I head to Holland Park, more specifically the "Kyoto Garden".

The garden was opened in 1991 and is sometimes named the "secret garden" as the park itself resides next to Kensington Gardens, which is more popular and has less foot traffic. It was donated by the Chamber of Commerce of Kyoto in recognition of the Japan festival that was held in London in 1992. A well-known Japanese designer worked with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to create this space and use all the different elements from a Japanese garden.

Obviously this garden is in the setting of a park in the UK, making for an interesting contrast, but it's still worth a visit if you are ever in London and are craving that Japanese aesthetic. Watching the koi fish is very peaceful, I tried to capture this feeling in the set of photography below.