Beautiful "Eastern Highland" - A recommended 2-day, 1-night trip to see the greenery and flowers

Ai Nishimura

Administrator of the blog "My Diary," which began in 2004. A writer who has traveled to all 47 prefectures and loves local culture and history.
Author of Shimane's "Geography, Place Names, and Maps" Mysteries (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha), My Town is the "Number One in Japan" Dictionary (PHP Institute), and Prefectures Explained in Neko Neko Japanese History (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha). Official blogger for Suntory Gourmet Guide, official top user for Retty, and official platinum blogger for Excite.

10:00 Experience the world of Monet's paintings at Monet's Garden Marmottan in Kitagawa Village

Leaving Yuzu no Yado behind, we get off at the Kitagawa Village Municipal Bus "Monet's Garden" bus stop. We then visit Monet's Garden Marmottan, which has three gardens.

This is the only facility in the world that has been allowed to call itself "Monet's Garden" by the Claude Monet Foundation, which manages Monet's house and gardens in France. Monet's garden in Giverny, France, is famous for his work "Water Lilies," and it is also Monet's ideal world, where he devoted himself to creating gardens with passion. This garden has been reproduced in Japan at Monet's Garden Marmottan in Kitagawa Village.

This was the location where they had planned to attract a winery using the local specialty yuzu as part of a regional revitalization effort. However, they were forced to change course midway through the project, and with their efforts and strong enthusiasm, they realized the idea of "creating Monet's garden, a famous French garden, in Kitagawa Village," inspired by the wine connection.

The gardens are meticulously maintained and looked after, with the water lilies floating in the pond arranged in beautiful circles and ovals, so that the world of Monet's paintings unfolds from every angle. The gardens were bustling at the time as the blue water lilies had just bloomed, but the gardens can be enjoyed in any season, with the sparkling new buds in spring and the autumn leaves reflected in the pond in the beautiful autumn.

To mark its 20th anniversary this year, Monet's Garden Marmottan in Kitagawa Village has reopened with a garden themed on the Italian resort town of Bordighera. Modeled after Bordighera, a place Monet loved and visited many times, and where he left behind many paintings, the garden is filled with exotic plants planted in the white, dry landscape unique to the Mediterranean, and is an area filled with a slightly different charm from the "Water Garden" with its water lily pond and the "Flower Garden" with its blooming flowers.

I walked around the water lily pond about three times, and every time I looked I found something new and beautiful, so it was hard to leave. It was so well-made that I felt like I didn't need to go to France anymore.

The water lilies reach their peak in July and August and can be enjoyed until late October.

12:00: Café Monet's House, where you can enjoy water lily themed dishes

At the restaurant inside Monet's Garden Marmottan in Kitagawa Village, you can enjoy lunch themed around Monet's garden, which changes depending on the season and events.

On this day, I chose the summer menu item "Cold Bouillabaisse - Water Lily Pond". It is made with paprika and tomatoes to represent a water lily flower. A scallop is placed in the middle as the center of the flower. It is garnished with grilled Atlantic salmon with the skin side down and other seafood, and is served with a seafood-based sauce. Another point is that it uses lentils, which were Monet's favorite.

Not only is it a restaurant, but it also has shops and a bakery, making it a place where you can spend the whole day. You can also purchase flower seedlings in the "Flower Garden" area, so if you see a flower that catches your eye in the garden, be sure to check it out.

After eating, we walked around the garden again. It was so beautiful that we never got bored.

14:30 Enjoy the blue ocean of the eastern coast at the cafe "SEA HOUSE"

I wanted to end my trip around eastern Kochi with a view of the sea, so I went to the seaside cafe "SEA HOUSE" about a 15-minute walk from "Nishibun Station" on the Gona Line. It was a bit far to walk, so I took a bus from Aki Station and headed to the Nishiyori bus stop, which was just a few minutes away from the cafe.

SEA HOUSE is a cafe that stands on a cliff jutting out into the sea. Its glass walls offer a great view all the way to the horizon.

There are different types of seating on the first and second floors, and it was bustling with people, but the secret to its popularity isn't just its location, but also its attentive service and delicious drinks and sweets.

The French toast was a perfect dessert, with the soft bread soaked in the dough and not too sweet, and the bitter caramel sauce added to the sweetness. The coffee was also very good, so I was able to spend some time relaxing.

In the end, I was able to enjoy the lovely cafe and the blue sea, and it was a place that made me feel glad I came.

The slow and gentle flow of time in eastern Kochi Prefecture gives you a moment to release your daily fatigue and stress. The caves, the gardens with floating water lilies, and the blue ocean view from the Go-na Line were soothing and made many memories. There were also places where the scenery was so beautiful that I couldn't help but stop and take a look. Nature, the sea, and agricultural products can be enjoyed in every season. Eastern Kochi is full of lush greenery and it's impossible to enjoy it all in one trip.