Awaji Yumebutai

Awaji Yumebutai (淡路夢舞台), designed by world-famous architect Tadao Ando, is a breathtaking cultural complex on Awaji Island that beautifully blends modern architecture with nature. Once an excavation site, the area was reborn as a memorial and garden space following the 1995 earthquake. Its most iconic feature is the Hyakudanen, or "100 Stepped Gardens"—a hillside terrace of 100 colorful flower beds offering peaceful views over Osaka Bay and a place for quiet reflection.

Yumebutai also showcases Ando’s signature concrete forms, serene water gardens, and walking paths that lead through artfully designed spaces. One of its top attractions is the Miracle Planet Museum of Plants, a massive botanical greenhouse filled with global plant species and themed gardens. For those looking to stay, the Westin Awaji Island Resort provides ocean-view rooms, a traditional tea ceremony room, and easy access to all of Yumebutai’s nature-rich and architecturally inspiring areas.