Vienna's Hidden Japanese Garden: Ken Nakajima's Setagaya Park

In Vienna, in the residential neighbourhood of Döbling (19th district), climbing towards the hill of the Hohe Warte, there's a garden that many Viennese know but which rarely appears on foreign visitors' itineraries: the Setagayapark. It is a true Japanese garden, not an improvised exotic decoration: it was designed in 1992 by the landscape architect Ken Nakajima, and was inaugurated in May of that year. It grows from a concrete bond: the twinning between the Viennese district of Döbling and Setagaya, a district of the Tokyo metropolis. The park's roughly 4,000 square metres are the physical translation of that friendship agreement between the two cities.

The entrance

The entrance sets the tone at once. You pass under a bamboo gate made in the Tokusabari style, inspired by the garden of the Shugakuin imperial palace in Kyoto. A little beyond, a carved stone bears the word "Furomon", which evokes the idea of paradise. The arrangement is not accidental: Nakajima designed the space so that those who enter would slow their pace and observe, rather than simply photograph.

The garden

Inside, the garden unfolds around water. There are several ponds linked by streams and small cascades, crossed by a bridge from which you can see koi carp swimming beneath the surface. Near the main pond stands a tea pavilion in traditional style. Scattered among the vegetation are a stone lantern in the "Yukimi" style (the low type, designed to reflect on the water and hold the snow), stone sculptures, a stone pagoda and a fountain. At the entrance, a poem carved in stone completes the ensemble.

The seasons

The botanical side is what makes the Setagayapark different depending on when you go. The plantings are carefully studied: Japanese maples, ornamental cherries, azaleas and wetland species. The result is a garden that changes face with the seasons. In April, during the cherry blossom, it's at its most spectacular; in October the maples turn red. It's worth bearing the calendar in mind: the park is seasonal. It opens from 1 March to 31 October, every day from 7 in the morning, and stays closed in the winter months (from 1 November to 28 February) and in bad winter weather. Closing times vary through the year, from 6 pm in March to 9 pm in the height of summer. Dogs are not allowed.

Getting there

To get there: the address is Gallmeyergasse 4, 1190 Vienna. From the centre you take tram 37 towards Hohe Warte. You can board at Schottentor (near the U2 and U4 underground lines) or at Nussdorfer Straße (U6 line). You get off in the upper part of Döbling and within a few minutes on foot you're at the entrance.

Why does it stay little frequented by tourists? Simply because of its location: it's in a residential neighbourhood, far from the Ring–Stephansdom–Schönbrunn axis where nearly all the flow of Vienna's visitors is concentrated. Those who make it up here are usually locals, families and someone who found it on the lists of the city's less obvious spots. A good way to round off the visit is to combine it with a stroll through Döbling: the neighbourhood is known for its Heurigen, the wine taverns, and for the views over the city from the hill of the Hohe Warte.