Sengan-en Garden

Sengan-en is a stately former residence and garden built in 1658 by Shimadzu Mitsuhisa, the 19th head of the Shimadzu clan, who ruled southern Kyushu for centuries. This vast garden, covering roughly 4.8 hectares, uses the active Sakurajima volcano as a backdrop and Kinko Bay as its “pond,” creating one of Japan’s finest examples of borrowed scenery. The garden features ponds, shrines, and bamboo groves. After exploring, you can even dine on local specialties at the onsite restaurant yourself.
Sengan-en is also connected to Japan’s modernization. The neighboring Shoko Shuseikan Museum—housed in Japan’s oldest Western-style stone factory of its type—explores the Shimadzu family’s 800-year history and the industrial ventures that helped shape the Meiji era. Together, Sengan-en and the Shoko Shuseikan Museum are recognized as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution.