Elements / Paths

The term “stroll garden” is self-explanatory, but it rarely implies random strolling. Japanese gardens, like all gardens, are subject to damage by the human foot, and most garden designers have been careful to direct the footsteps of visitors along paths that are clearly marked. The materials used in these paths range from carefully dressed stones, to undressed stones chosen for their flat surfaces, to raked gravel, and even to the salvaged stone column bases of destroyed temples or other buildings. Many are constructed in such a way that a visitor must move carefully and slowly through the garden, taking time to appreciate the vistas that the path provides. A note of caution: for the purposes of preservation and in some cases privacy, many of the paths shown here are not available to the average visitor