The pristine Japanese Garden (Taman Jepun), a symbol of Ipoh-Fukuoka Sister Cities, is decorated with lush greenery such as the ‘Janda Merana’ among others.
‘Janda Merana’ is one of the shady trees that enhance the natural beauty of the place due to its small yet lush leaves.
City Landscape Director of the Ipoh City Council (MBI), Meor Abdullah Zaidi Meor Razali explained that other shady trees planted at the garden include Pink Tecoma, Pine, Cycads and Kelat Paya.
“These trees play an important role as the concept of the garden follows the same landscape structure as the Japanese Garden in Fukuoka. Its design is typical of Japanese gardens found around the world.
“The Fukuoka City Hall and MBI have introduced a new element called the Dry Garden in order to upgrade the garden.
“It is a representation of the landscape in Japan. It depicts the land, body of water and hills via the arrangements of rock fragments and small-sized plants or bonsai,” he shared with Ipoh Echo via an exclusive interview today.
The carpet of smaller stones represent the land or sea surface while the bigger rocks represent the mountains. All the stones are selected from the quarries around Ipoh with white and grey hues of limestone type.
The 1.2-hectare garden is located at D.R. Seenivasagam Recreational Park.
The garden was officially opened on June 30, 1995 by the then Mayor Ahmad Salleh Sarif, together with the previous Mayor, Dato’ Umar Abu, with the presence of the treasurer of Fukuoka City Hall, Watanabe who represented the Mayor of Fukuoka.
According to Meor Abdullah Zaidi, the garden was named Japanese Mini Garden after the signing of an agreement between Ipoh and Fukuoka on March 21, 1989 as Sister Cities of Japan and Malaysia.
“This is a must-visit location to unwind, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. One will feel as if one is in a garden in Japan.
“The garden is open everyday from 9.00 am till 4.00 pm. Visitors must comply with the set standard operating procedures (SOPs) and preserve the cleanliness of the garden to ensure the wellbeing of all,” he added.
Rosli Mansor
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