Awaji Yumebutai
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The Awaji Yumebutai (淡路夢舞台) is a complex comprising a conference center, hotel and memorial in Awaji, Hyōgo, Japan, built near the epicenter of the 1995 Great Hanshin Awaji earthquake. It was designed by Tadao Ando,[1][2] who had begun planning for the project (as a park) prior to the earthquake.[3] The hotel is operated as the Westin Awaji Island Resort.
Yumebutai (夢舞台) literally means "Dream Stage",[4] from yume (夢; "dream") and butai (舞台; "performance stage, setting"). Metaphorically "a place in which to dream",[5] the name refers to the aim of restoring the ecology of the island,[6] whose soil had been partly removed for land reclamation in Osaka.[3]
Hyakudanen
One of the most distinctive features in the complex is the Hyakudan'en (百段苑; "hundred stepped gardens"), a group of 100 flower beds (small square gardens) on an incline, arranged in grids spread over several levels. The "hundred" refers to the number of mini-gardens and not the steps, as there are 1,575 steps and 235 flights.[3]
