The Japanese garden in Hasselt is the largest in Europe, but it's still quite small.
It is squeezed into a little site on the edge of town next to the ring road. You might have trouble finding it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't visit, especially in blossom time.
The garden was created in the early 1990s by a team of skilled Japanese gardeners who landscaped the modest site with a flowing river, small hill, waterfall, tea house and even a pebbly beach.
The garden is best in spring when the 200 or so cherry trees are in flower. Japanese families make a special trip to Hasselt just to admire the blossom.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
