Kyoto Gardens

The Kyoto Gardens are located atop the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in the Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles. The garden was originally built as part of the New Otani Hotel & Garden in 1977 and was modeled after a 16th-century garden created for the samurai lord Kato Kiyomasa.

I have visited several hotel-based Japanese gardens, and the Kyoto Gardens clearly fall into the same category—a mixture of Japanese-inspired plantings and garden scenes set within a modern architectural environment (see also the Grand Hyatt in Atlanta). Admittedly, I struggled to make the connection to a traditional Japanese garden. While several individual features could be classified as traditional Japanese garden elements, the overall garden was overshadowed by the surrounding urban landscape.

A small stream, several waterfalls, wooden bridges, and a pond were present as well as several lanterns and other hardscape features.

This is the first Japanese garden I have visited that uses artificial turf in place of natural grass, disappointingly giving portions of the garden the appearance of a miniature golf course.

The large stepping-stone bridge spanning the stream was a nice touch. Yet, once again, the garden seemed to become lost within the modern architecture of the hotel.

Overall, the garden was worth visiting. However, as an example of traditional Japanese garden design, it left me wanting more. It is an attractive rooftop garden, but as an authentic Japanese garden, it is less convincing.