A trip to Fuji Bamboo Garden in Nagaizumi Town, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan makes a great day out. If you are in the Fuji area then this little publicized garden and museum is well worth the effort to get there.
Fuji Bamboo Garden is in a small town called Nagaizumi. It’s called ‘Fuji’ Bamboo Garden because the Japanese have a fascination bordering on obsession with their highest mountain and active volcano. You can see Mount Fuji from the garden. The garden is easy to find because it is behind the famous cancer hospital in the town.
Fuji Bamboo Garden was opened in 1951. The area covers 40,000 square meters. There are about 700 different types of bamboo to see. It claims to be the biggest collection of different types of bamboo plant in the world.
There is also a green house that covers 540 square meters that houses rare African, South American and South East Asian bamboos.
trip to Fuji Bamboo Garden
It takes about an hour to wander through the gardens and green house to see all the bamboo types. There is an immense variety within the bamboo genus that makes it interesting to look at. There is the bumpy tortoise shell bamboo, the elegant black bamboo and the towering moso bamboo. Some have big leaves, others small spiky leaves. Some bamboo clumps together in tight formation; others spread evenly over the garden.
In the grounds there is also a museum that houses an array of interesting artifacts. There are bamboo xylophones from Indonesia, huge woven bamboo baskets from Africa, bamboo fishing equipment, a bamboo hut and bamboo figures of animals. Although the museum is small they’ve collected an impressive amount of bamboo stuff from around the world that clearly shows the many uses of bamboo.
Finally, there’s a small shop where you can get such useful items as bamboo soap and bamboo vinegar. If you have any type of interest in bamboo and you happen to be in the Fuji area then you shouldn’t miss the chance to visit the Fuji Bamboo Garden.
Bamboo for Gardens
Bamboos evoke an exotic atmosphere wherever they are used — unfortunately, they are too often kept out of our gardens for fear of their invasive qualities or lack of hardiness. In truth, these elegant grasses, encompassing both woody and herbaceous forms, can achieve dramatic yet restrained effects in a range of climates. Their uses include both the ornamental, offering striking foliage and culms, and the practical, such as for screening or erosion control, not to mention the culinary treat of bamboo shoots and the structural qualities of the culm wood. Tropical and subtropical bamboos present many possibilities for landscapes in warmer climates, while the hardier species can be grown as far north as Minnesota in the United States and in the cooler climes of England and continental Europe. Bamboo culture has a long and distinguished legacy in East Asia, but much remains to be explored by Western gardeners and landscapers.
Bamboo expert Ted Jordan Meredith provides a thorough
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