Herbs have been used in Japan for hundreds of years, for both culinary and medicinal purposes, and a fun way to learn more about the rich heritage of Japanese folk remedies is to visit a herb garden.
"Most people think of Europe when they think of herbs, but Japanese have always used a wide variety of herbs in their daily lives," says Naoto Ibuki, president of the Tokyo Metropolitan Medicinal Garden.
Located in the city of Kodaira in western Tokyo, the garden grows 1,600 plants on a 30,000-sq.-meter site for use in kanpo and folk medicine, industrial drugs, and perfumes and dyes.