Yoshikien Garden in Nara was my favorite garden in Japan.
This garden is so peaceful, as an added plus, it is free to all foreign visitors!
Despite being in such a beautiful garden, even a Tiny Hippo can get lonely…
Don’t worry though, you are bound to make friends anywhere! While posing for this picture I heard people giggling and chattering behind me. That is to be expected, you know, I am often a great source of interest.
What i didn’t realize was that I was about to meet someone just like me! This is a mouse from Singapore.
He travels the world just like I do, acting as a travel companion for his human friend.
The mouse travel companion also tends to be rather clumsy, just like a certain Tiny Hippo.
We made sure to get a photo with our humans so no one felt left out. It was a glorious chance meeting.
Even after the mouse and I parted ways I took the joy of meeting a kindred spirit in such an unlikely place with me for the rest of my visit.
My one regret about my meeting the mouse and his human was that I did not get their contact info, it was all too exciting to think of such a trivial thing! If you know the mouse traveling companion or even his human please let them know I am looking for them!
Meanderings Abound 
I love Japanese garden! They are so beautiful and peaceful! I have never been to Japan but had the chance to visit wonderful Japanese gardens in Canada (Montreal) and in Australia (Sydney and Adelaide) and I have fallen in love with them. I like the way they celebrate the beauty of nature, the colours, the elements in harmony… it is like a spiritual path in the forest… don’t you think? Thank you so much for your beautiful pictures of Yoshikien Garden in Nara. I like your friend, he is as happy as a hippo 😉
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! Yes, I think Japanese gardens are very spiritual, and all the Tiny Hippo’s I know agree.
The colors of those leaves are amazing! And what a lovely chance meeting!