Japanese Garden, Tashkent

Location: Amir Timur Street, behind the InterContinental Hotel
Tel.: (+998 71) 238 56 26

Description: In the very heart of Tashkent, behind the International Business Centre which is next to the Hotel InterContinental you may quite unexpectedly discover a beauty spot of nature - a unique 'Japanese garden'.

The garden owes its name to its developers. Many old residents still remember the time half a century ago (and it was the year of 1947), when a park was started on the waste plot of land. The foundation pit for the lake was made by Japanese soldiers and the trees of the park were probably planted with their hands…

More than half a century has passed. Time heals wounds, but it also sharpens our memory. The stones in the park are like memory and the flowers along the garden alleys are like reconciliation. Everything here disposes us for peace, contemplation, for thoughts about eternal and beautiful, for creativity and forgiveness. Parents with children come here to feed the numerous ducks swimming on the surface of the lake adjacent to the Japanese garden. It is a pleasure to sit for a while in a cozy pergola on the shore of the lake, to wander along the garden lanes in the peace and quiet in the heart of the noisy city.

Here you can see many wedding processions. The Japanese garden is a popular place for visiting by the newly married who wish to photograph and make video of their happiest day against the background of splendid nature.

On a journey through the garden one must necessarily make a stopover at the teahouse. Next to its entrance there is a national Japanese drum and you must rotate it so that the Gods should hear you. You are to leave your footwear at the door, since the floor inside is covered with carpets. It is possible to be photographed next to the table with the display of all the necessary items for the tea ceremony. National Japanese costumes hung on the walls will contribute to a visitor's impression of being in a small Japan, located in the heart of Uzbekistan.

Having walked through the house you will find yourself on the open verandah overlooking a small pond with running water. You can sit right on the edge of the verandah dabbling your feet in the water and watching free and easy games of carps and golden fish living in the pond.

Then you can walk along the wooden foot bridge across the babbling creek and walk on along the intricate paths discovering the hidden corners of the huge garden…