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Saturday, March 31, 2012

Phoenix - Japanese Friendship Garden Ro Ho En

The Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix is another one of these "best kept secrets". This information is on their website to explain the name of the garden:
The name – Ro Ho En is a combination of three Japanese words. Ro means Heron, a bird symbol of Himeji City. Shira Sagi Jou, or the White Heron, is a 300-year-old medieval castle in Himeji. Ho is the Japanese word for the city of mythical Phoenix bird. En means garden.
We enjoyed a guided tour through the garden and then tea at the Tea House. The tea ceremonies are held once a month on a Saturday, reservations required.  I was thrilled that we had "matcha", because I have that type of tea and get lumps! I asked about it and the answer was given. I will no longer have lumpy matcha tea. Yea!
The name of the garden hangs over the entrance.