Naoshima Ryokan ROKA
CONTEMPORARY

THE RYOKAN COLLECTION

THE RYOKAN COLLECTION
OTHER FACILITIES
Sanshi-suimei Garden
Sanshi-suimei is the front garden designed by architect Hironori Fujioka and built by Kei Amano of Yard Works Inc. Reminiscent of ancient Chinese poetical texts, the name literally means “Mountain Blessings, Sparkling Water.” The water element is expressed by two circular rice paddies, a nod to the site’s former role and, eventually, a place where staying guests might try their own hands at planting or harvesting this most fundamental of Japanese crops. True to the other half of its name, the garden features a diversity of plants, from Asian evergreen shrubs and black pine to burning bush, broad-leaved banksia, a variety of maples, and flowering cacti like yucca, aloes, and prickly pear. The range of shapes and bright notes of color are pleasing to look at year-round, and play host to a variety of pollinators from bees to butterflies and birds. Eventually, some of the garden’s fruits and leaves may be harvested for use in Roka’s impressionable collection of housemade botanical infusions—blessings, indeed.