In the middle of Nagoya there are places interspersed throughout the city in which one can almost not hear the traffic echo through the concrete canyons. After having a discussion with a co-worker about how we both wish nature was closer and the noise less...noisy, I went in search of such a place.

I came to Shirotori Garden. A forty-five minute walk from my apartment, and close to a few subway stations, the garden sits next to, and separated from, the Horikawa River (this mostly resembles a canal as it runs into Nagoya bay).

It is a world on its own, only a few tall buildings distract from the view of manicured lawns and a man-made creek complete with a small waterfall, flowers and ponds full of colorful fish. Looking upstream toward the waterfall, for a moment, I forgot about the city lying beyond the four walls of clean cut shrubs that form the exterior barricade.

Here are a few pictures:

Flowers and...
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Trees and bridge: View image
Garden bridge: View image
Garden creek: View image
Waterfall: View image
Atusta Shrine statue: View image

And a break from all the nature, here is the Nagoya Congress Building, not quite fitting the idea of shrines and apartment blocks in architectural style: View image