Inhale slowly, take a good deep breath and enjoy all the wonderful smells around you. Don't you smell it? The scents of beautiful blooming flowers is looming in the air. The scent of the fresh water, that runs through these oriental gardens, entices the nose. Don't you smell it? It is the smell of nature and of beauty. It is the smell of peace and harmony that exists in such a beautiful place. Can't you see that through these gardens Taniguchi has embedded a wonderful connection between man and nature? I know I can. Completely and totally surrounded by nature and it’s amazing beauty, that is your feelings here in these gardens. It’s such an amazingly clam and relaxing place. So calm, that you feel as though you belong right in the middle amongst all the wondrous grace and beauty.

My first reaction is relaxation, to the wonderful sounds. The soothing trickle of the water dripping from pond to pond, and the wonderful sound the waterfall makes as it hits the pond, are enough to put someone to sleep. The waterfall itself is amazing to observe. Never once faltering or falling a different way. The water just flows off the upper rocks with such preciseness. If only life would be so perfect and precise, it would be so much easier. The water from the falls has left the underlying rocks slightly discolored. Their greenish tint contrasts the clear water just enough to make a wonderful rusty looking effect.

There are birds all around the gardens, making their cries and calling out to each other. They are calling to all of the visitors who walk through the gardens. Their calls are enticing the people to connect to nature. They want all the visitors to have “a pleasant communion with the spirit of the garden” (187). This spirit of the garden lives within each person’s heart. It is just their goal to look within and find it for themselves. This is what Taniguchi would have wanted for himself and Mother Tree to know that they achieved their goal. The sounds of the garden are silent and quit. There is a distraction, unfortunately. The park nearby causes a great deal of noise. This deeply distracts visitors of the garden, and it makes it much more difficult to search within your soul to find what the gardens truly mean to you.

The sights that are scattered throughout the gardens amaze children and put smiles on adults faces. The giant koi that inhabit the many ponds, are absolutely magnificent. I have never in my life appreciated fish so much. The gardens have caused me to connect to nature and understand much more than I ever have before. The flowers that bloom everywhere are found in bright vivid colors such as yellow and pink. Their images stick solidly in my mind. I feel the warm sunshine they feel, and I feel the cool water, of the ponds, that they drink from. I am like a flower, strong and bold. Never before have I seen so much plant life in one place. Pictures that I have seen of these gardens do it absolutely no justice. There are more forms of greenery here than I could have every imagined. They too convey a message of oneness with the gardens. If I were to lay down in the plants, I would become one with them, I would be part of the garden. The bridge is the CONNECTION! It connects my world to nature and this garden. Walking over it causes a change from being in nature to being one with nature. Here in these gardens, once you cross that bridge, you can never ever go back. Thank you Taniguchi. Thank you for showing so many people how powerful nature is. Thank you for helping me find the connection’ to god’s creations, that I have long been trying to discover. Thank you!