This traditional Japanese strolling garden (hill-and-pond style) was created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the city’s municipal status.

Sakai City has flourished since the medieval period as a major port engaged in trade with continental Asia. Reflecting this historical background, the entire garden is designed as an allegory of Sakai itself, with the large pond representing the sea, and the river flowing into it symbolizing the Ishizu River.

At the request of the city, the design was intended to express Sakai’s history as a cultural gateway between Japan and the wider world, as well as its role in cultural exchange.

Plantings such as Equisetum (horsetail), Farfugium japonicum, and Iris ensata along the stream add a refined sense of atmosphere.

In the “ocean” (pond), three mythical island of the immortals were created. One of the islands is connected by both a drum bridge and a flat bridge, introducing variation in the landscape composition.

Across the water, the opposite shore symbolizes China. The distant hill covered with dwarf bamboo represents famous Chinese sacred mountains such as Mount Lu and Tiger Creek landscapes. A three-stage waterfall flowing into the pond represents the “Flying Waterfall” (Feiliu Waterfall), further emphasizing the symbolic representation of cultural exchange and continental landscapes.