Japanese Zen Garden, Place of Reflection

Advantages: Peace & Tranquility, Inspiring.
Disadvantages: To me... none To others? Too quiet perhaps?

...If you like the tranquillity of Japanese gardens, the Japanese Zen Garden, situated in the village of St. Mawgan, nr Newqay is the place to visit. Having been a Zen practitioner for the past 25 years, I found this garden exudes a peace and tranquillity that usually takes an hour of zazen (Zen meditation aimed at stilling the mind, transcending the "chattering mind", and becoming at-one with the self) to produce. The layout of plants, rocks and various interesting water features interspersed tastefully with statuettes of Buddha and traditional Japanese pagodas, really helps the visitor to just "be" in the present moment leaving behind the stresses and strains of everyday life. The Zen garden itself, a "sea" of stone chippings that flow around larger rocks, is particularly attractive to those of us who like to focus their mind in...

derek-j-a 02.05.2005 · Read review
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Review of Japanese Zen Garden (nr Newquay)

In the night garden ninky nonk train set

Advantages: strong, versatile, compact, nice bright colours, fun to play with
Disadvantages: none so far

...I decided to buy the in the night garden ninky nonk train set from Amazon as my young daughter is a big fan of in the night garden and whenever it comes on TV she gets really excited. So as my daughter already had some of the other characters from the show I wanted her to have the whole set and since buying it the train set the ninky nonk train set has become one of her favourite toys to play with on a daily basis. The train set can come apart and be attached on many different ways and my daughter enjoys looking at the nice bright colours and putting some of the other in the night garden characters onto the train set even though it keeps falling of now and again it keeps her busy and sometimes I hear her in fits of giggles. The train set is very cute and versatile and its great as children such as mine can have hours of fun with it...

jmarlene 02.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of Hasbro In the Night Garden Ninky Nonk Train Set

A cornish gem of an attraction just outside Newquay

Advantages: Japanese Zen, Bonsai,
Disadvantages: Would've been better when dry!

...We visited this year in July 2009 when on holiday in Newquay. I've only ever seen bits of Japanese gardens in the UK in parts of garden displays and never a full pure Japanese garden. It's a beautiful peaceful tranquil space where you could spend hours walking round, sitting, admiring the beautiful scenery and plants. I took over 100 photos while I was in the garden; they are on my website if anyone is interested. The Japanese Garden and Bonsai Nursery is signposted from the A3059, the main road into Newquay from the A30. It's just outside the village of St Magwan, and has a car park for at least 20 cars. You enter into the shop, which itself is amazing, lots of wooden carved dragons, and stones, books on Japanese culture, as well as Bonsai! It's open everyday 10am till 6pm and is £3.50 for adults and £1.50 for children to enter...

wileycat 19.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Japanese Zen Garden (nr Newquay)

My hands just experienced a Japanese Spa . . .

Advantages: indulgent alternative to everyday soap, appealing fragrance
Disadvantages: slightly drying on the hands - could be too much for sensitive skin

...say it looked more feminine than masculine. Topped with the red ribbon Imperial Leather logo, the words "Japanese Spa" are printed entirely in lower case plum-purple letters and underneath a cropped, graphic-looking floral shape in pink and pale green is finished off with simple flower shapes and a figure that looks like it is from the Japanese alphabet, so again there is quite a pronounced feeling of "delicacy". As each bottle holds 300ml I think it has lasted fairly well considering it must be getting used about four times a day. I'm not sure what I'd expect a spa in Japan to smell like but I certainly think the highlight on the front of the bottle telling me that it contains green tea, rice milk and jasmine plants the suggestion of an oriental atmosphere in the mind. Having just washed my hands I am now sitting here smelling them (yes...

KateHurst 14.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Imperial Leather Japanese Spa Handwash

Little Japan

Advantages: Breathtaking landscaping and structures, historical significance
Disadvantages: None unless you dislike Japanese culture

...San Francisco is a cultural experience, the main oriental influence coming from the large population of Chinese residents and the fantastically lively Chinatown. The other and maybe lesser known, but equally enchanting oriental flavour comes from Japan. Found nestling within the 1000 acre expanse of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is a five acre site of amazing beauty and over 100 years of historical significance - the Japanese Tea garden. It was originally part of the Californian Winter Exposition of 1894, which spanned some 60 acres of the Golden Gate Park. The idea came from a man named George Marsh, who had lived for years in Japan before moving to The States, his vision was to create a replica of the landscaping he had admired for many years. Marsh’s dream took shape, and the authenticity was achieved from...

wiggglypufff 23.05.2001 (01.11.2001) · Read review
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Review of Japanese Tea Garden

Joining Bado Maiku on his Japanese Adventure

Advantages: well laid out, excellent presentation, thorough, inexpensive, comprehensive
Disadvantages: best started after learning kana and used with the workbook so additional purchases necessary

...Looking at the name of this product, I guess it is no surprise that someone in our household is learning Japanese. To be more precise, my two children and I are learning Japanese together. We have used several methods to get us started, and now that we more or less have a good feel for the sound of the language and have lots of vocabulary under our belt, we are ready for something a bit more structured. Yes, it is time to get down to brass tacks as they say. Now, there is a lot of "stuff" out there purportedly for the purpose of teaching children a foreign language. While bilingual books and picture dictionaries and flashcards and the like have their place, I don't think it takes a genius to figure out that these things alone will not make your child able to actually communicate effectively in the chosen language. Sadly, actual...

Shroud 16.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Japanese For Young People I Student Book - AJALT

Japanese at your fingertips

Advantages: Clear layout, pocket sized, easy to use, good cultural notes.
Disadvantages: No Japanese to English mini dictionary.

...A few years ago a tutor of mine taught me a few Japanese phrases - simple numbers and a few greetings - and from then on I was hooked. At the time I didn't have a huge amount of money, and didn't really know what I was looking for in terms of a textbook so I rushed to a bookstore and found the cheapest thing I could find that suited my needs. Enter the DK Eyewitness Japanese phrase book. Appearance You should never judge a book by its cover, but let's make an exception here! It's not a huge tome by any means, measuring a tiny 10x14cm this is an actual pocket sized book (unlike some huge books I've seen advertised as 'pocket sized'). It has a nice main picture of a temple, and smaller pictures of other things that are typically associated with the Japanese culture such as a lady in a kimono, the distinctive shaped coins...

Mayoki 28.09.2008 (07.10.2008) · Read review
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Review of Eyewitness Travel Phrase Book: Japanese

The Spice Garden - No Garden, Plenty of Spice

Advantages: Light airy conservatory, pleasant service, good value for money
Disadvantages: Nothing out of the ordinary

...Another week brought another visit from my hungry curry-loving colleague Joep. I had no plans for the evening and asked if he wanted to have dinner. His eyes lit up; "Can we have curry?" he asked excitedly. And so at around 6.30pm we left the office to go in search of a new curry restaurant that we'd not tried before. I'd spotted the Spice Garden on my way to work that morning and decided that this time it would get our custom. The world (well the UK anyway ? and India, Bangladesh, Pakistan etc?..you get what I mean) is full of curry restaurants and in the middle of a recession we should spread our pennies around and try to support a new one each time until we run out or get food poisoning. I got lucky and found a parking space right in front of the restaurant. It's on New Chester Road in Bromborough, about a mile off the M53, close...

koshkha 07.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Spice Garden, Merseyside

A garden to die for!

Advantages: Plenty to see and do for both adults and children
Disadvantages: None

...The Alnwick Garden in Northumberland is a really lovely place to visit, as I discovered recently when in the area. I had decided to visit on the recommendation of a friend who had recently spent a day there, and had spent quite a while telling me about it afterwards. I was intrigued to find out more and visit here myself, as although I live in the North East and have visited many places in Northumberland, I had never visited The Alnwick Garden. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HOW TO GET THERE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Alnwick Garden is situated just off the A1 at Alnwick in Northumberland, and is well signposted if travelling by car. Buses connect Alnwick to surrounding towns and also Newcastle. If travelling by train, the east coast line stops at Alnmouth which is 4 miles away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE ALNWICK GARDEN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Alnwick...

JEFFJEN 17.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Alnwick Garden, Northumberland

Gardening for Wildlife

Advantages: Encourages a mini eco-system right on your doorstep
Disadvantages: Does involve a small amount of effort!

...It is a widely held belief that gardening is good for you. It is good exercise, it builds confidence and self-esteem, and it promotes a sense of inner peace like nothing else on earth. In short, it can heal the mind and soothe the soul and really should be handed out in blocks of 1 hour on prescription in place of chemicals and drugs that fool your brain into thinking you are fine. I am a great believer in gardening for good health, and, having been treated for depression last year, have found my garden the most therapeutic and important element of my healing process. My garden is an oasis of cool, soft-edged light, filtering through trees and climbers. Gentle sounds of wind chimes and bells ring out through the space, and although I am close to a busy main road, you wouldn't know, for the air is clear and quiet. It is the most...

phoenixgreen 10.09.2006 (14.06.2007) · Read review
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Review of Member Advice on Gardening