The Japanese garden is designed to be a representation of nature and to impart a sense of simple, unspoiled beauty.

Its style therefore contrasts with that of a Western garden, which relies on shaping nature into a kind of geometric beauty.

There are three main styles of Japanese garden; Tsukiyama (artificial hills),Karesansui (dry landscape), and Chaniwa (tea garden).

1)Tsukiyama Gardens
TsukiyamaGardens often copy famous landscapes from China or Japan, and they commonly strive to make a smaller garden appear more spacious.

For instance, ShukkeienGarden in Hiroshima is said to have been modeled after Lake Xihu in Hangzhou, China.

This is accomplished by utilizing shrubs to block views of surrounding buildings and integrating the background scenery of the garden such as mountains in the distance into its layout.
Ponds, streams, hills, stones, trees, flowers, bridges, and paths are also used frequently in this style.

The three most famous landscape gardens in Japan are in this style;
Korakuen in Okayama, Kenrokuen in Kanazawa, and Kairakuen in Mito.

2)Karesansui Gardens
Karesansui Gardens were influenced mainly by Zen Buddhism and can be found at Zen temples. Unlike other traditional gardens, there is no water present in Karesansui Gardens. In this style, the flow of water is represented by raked gravel or sand. The rocks are chosen for their artistic shapes and used to represent ponds, waterfalls, islands, boats, and mountains.

Ryoanji Temple and Daisenin Temple in Kyoto each have a garden famous for representing this style.

3)Chaniwa Gardens
Chaniwa Gardens are built for holding tea ceremonies and there usually include a tea house where the ceremonies occur. This style of garden avoids any suggestion of showiness and strives for the utmost simplicity and naturalness. Often, there are stepping stones leading to the tea house, stone lanterns, and stone basins (tsukubai) where guests wash their hands and rinse out their mouths before entering the teahouse.