On the morning of Maundy Thursday, after failing to get accommodations near the Pagsanjan Falls, we decided to head back to the town of Kalayaan for lunch at Exotik Restaurant. But it was only after 10.00 a.m. and too early for lunch so where the road forked, instead of taking the left lane that would take us to Kalayaan, we turned right and headed toward Lake Caliraya. We decided it would be worth checking if there were available accommodations at Lagos del Sol. But we couldn’t find Lagos del Sol. What we found was a huge sign that said Japanese Garden. And that was where we went.
There was a gate with guards, we needed to buy the P10 peso tickets to get in, Speedy looked for loose change, paid for the tickets and off we went hunting for a parking space. There’s a NAPOCOR (National Power Corporation) compound next to the Japanese Garden and we got the impression that those manning the gate were NAPOCOR people. We drove through the gate, there was another sign that said Yamashita shrine, I joked about digging for the treasure, then we parked. As soon as I got out of the pick-up the first thing I noticed was the lush greenery. I was standing under a huge old tree and its trunk was covered with a vine of some kind.
There were a few palm trees and the cluster of red fruits contrasted vividly with the bright blue sky.
There was a bridge over a pond…
Speedy and Alex started to cross to the other side…
But Sam decided to find out if she could fly to the other side, a la Harry Potter.
The pond is covered in places with water lilies…
… with bright pink flowers growing intermittently. Alex asked me to take zoomed-in photos of the pink flowers so she could paint them.
At the other end of the bridge were stone steps leading to the ridge which supposedly offered a panoramic view of Lake Caliraya. So up we climbed.
But the hunt for a good spot on the ridge was soon forgotten when we saw the huge trees.
It was really huge.
And it looked better and better as I got nearer.
Even the view from the opposite side was great.
And that was where someone spotted the spider. Honestly, I could barely see it. And with the sun almost directly overhead, I squinted to zoom in with my camera. After a while, I gave up. But Speedy, Sam and Alex persevered. And that was when I took the photo of the three of them, cameras focused and oblivious to what I was doing.
To make a long story short, we headed back to the pick-up soon after that. It was almost noon, we didn’t have drinking water, the sun scorched the skin and I wasn’t about to wait for Sam to develop rashes. It was a good thing that the huge trees provided ample shade but it was still quite a long walk back to the parking area. From Caliraya, we headed back to the fork on the road and took the lane toward the town of Kalayaan and Exotik Restaurant.
As I was writing this post, I did a search on the Japanese Garden in Caliraya and came up with two useful links. The first has information on who built the garden.
The Japanese Garden is a shrine created by Philippine-Japan Friendship Society in memory of the Japanese soldiers who died during the encounter between the Japanese and Filipino-American troops at the close of World War II. Also to symbolizethe amity and friendship that exist between the Philippines and Japan. There are picnic huts on the lower level of the garden where visitors can sit and enjoy a snack.
The second says something about who maintains it:
Also in Barangay K. Talaongan is the Japanese Garden, covering about 12 hectares of land. Unlike the other resorts which is best for boating and other water-related activities, the Japanese Garden is a memorial park and the burial place of the Japanese soldiers who fought and died here during the Second World War. Moreover, the grave of General Yamashita can be found here.
The place was donated by the Japanese Memorial Garden Construction Committee in 1076 and is presently managed by the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR).
Okay, so we guessed right. The Japanese Garden is currently under the auspices of the NAPOCOR.
ms. connie baka maybe the treasure is buried in yamashita’s grave! lolz!
btw, nice pics and nice place. so relaxing and malamig sa mata. maganda mgdala ng hammock or banig dyan tsaka matulog. hehehee!
maybe your family could visit mindanao someday especially bukidnon and camiguin island. marami din nature spots dun and you could take lots of nice pics too!
Been wanting to go to Mindanao for a long time. But the sporadic violence worries me. Hirap lalo na kung kasama mga bata.
not all parts are magulo namn mis. connie. i could assure you that. i’m from cagayan de oro city and its peaceful here. also, camiguin island and bukidnon are safe places to travel too. maraming mga tourist na pumupunta sa camiguin especially on holy week. ang magulo lang ay sa ARMM area and western part of mindanao. hope you will give it a try.
Okay, Sam has a 3-week break in May, we’re planning on going somewhere but haven’t really decided where. Camiguin sounds goooood! Thanks.
i have to caution you though since you’re considering to visit this May that there are a lot of campaign posters posted on the island. i know you’re allergic to them and me too. hehehe!
i can’t recommend a place for you to stay and dine out since i stay in my aunt’s house everytime i visit there and i always eat lutong-bahay pag ngbakasyon ako dun. hehehe! so just check out this site for more info http://www.camiguin.gov.ph
We’re going AFTER the elections. Naku, I’m sick of traveling around the country and seeing nothing but campaign posters.
i just hope they will clean up after the elections. i’ll be looking forward for your pics if ever you’ve finally decided. tnx ms. connie for considering my suggestion.
Thank you for suggesting. I’ve long dreamed of traveling the entire country and documenting everything. I was hoping a road trip but I’ve been told the RO-RO service isn’t so great.
I was right…..I knew it was the Japanese garden you were referring to on the previous article.I first saw the garden many,many years ago when it was almost bare and there was only the Japanese memorial worth for photo ops.And then a few years ago our family revisited the place and I was amazed at how lush the garden has become.I’m glad that it is being maintained properly as we need these kind of places for relaxation and fresh air!
Too bad it was midday when we got there. I want to go back there when the weather is cooler. I can just imagine having a picnic under one of those huge trees.
sayang you should have followed the path coz at the end you’ll see the best view of caliraya lake, its worth every shot! fyi, the entrance fee has been P10 since nineteen kopong-kopong…hehehe… my exboyfriend (who is currently my official roommate for life
) and i used to go there. very peaceful ( coz its a cemetery…hehhehe), and the view is romantic! too bad its not well kept.
It’s a cemetery??? Ngek. Next time, we’ll go as far as the ridge. And find Yamashita’s shrine too.
Just for info, Lagos del Sol is located about 2 kilometers farther down the road from the Japanese Garden.
Whoa, we turned back too soon. But thanks for the info.
Hi Atty! I came across your blog while researching about Caliraya since my friends and I are planning to spend a weekend there to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I am a single 32-year-old lawyer currently working at the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Quezon Province as an Assistant Prosecutor. I also love to travel and to take pictures like you. I am a “struggling” photographer and just recently bought my Nikon D5000. I can’t seem to get the hang of it yet. “Struggling” seems to be the most appropriate word to describe my relationship with my camera : )
You have an interesting blog here and I’m reading some of the stuff you wrote (instead of preparing for trial tomorrow).
Anyway, is the Japanese Garden in Caliraya worth the long journey? What are the other places of interest in the area?
If you’re planning on a picnic, the Japanese Garden is a great place to do it. We didn’t go around the area much but we noticed that there was a nearby resort (restaurant?) that seemed interesting although we couldn’t locate it.
P.S. Your cam and your “struggle”: My 18-year-old daughter is a Photography major and some of my lawyer-friends have asked her for advice. She always says, “Don’t read the manual.” I agree. Just shoot and shoot and review your work afterward (more exciting than writing a pleading or preparing for cross hehehehe).