Japanese Gardens in the United States
A major part of Japanese culture are Japanese gardens – traditionally created in a rather abstract, but stylized manner that focuses on idealized landscapes in miniature form. When talking of Japanese gardens, there are several types including tea gardens, friendship gardens, rock gardens, botanical gardens, and sand gardens. Read a bit about each of these types of gardens below. Once you are done, you'll find information about a number of Japanese gardens located in the United States of America.
Japanese Tea Garden: Often consists of an often enclosed garden which contains a small teahouse. In this teahouse is where traditional Japanese tea ceremonies are conducted. They are a beautiful, but formal place, where one can connect with nature. Check out this great book about Japanese tea gardens if you are interested in learning more about the history and design of them.
Japanese Friendship Garden: Designed to be peaceful from the moment you pass through the gates, Japanese friendship gardens are a great place for a relaxing stroll. They offer a wealth of tranquility and often make the perfect location for intimate and elegant receptions.
Japanese Rock Garden / Japanese Sand Garden: Also known as dry landscape or zen gardens, Japanese rock gardens (or Sand Gardens, if you prefer) often consist of carefully arranged rocks (which may represent mountains, boats, living creatures, etc.), moss, pruned trees and bushes, and raked sand or gravel (representing the ripples in water). Want your very own miniature Japanese sand garden? Check out this nifty desk version.
Japanese Botanical Garden: Easily recognizable, Japanese botanical gardens are popular attractions found around the world. They are often built with strolling in mind and feature many types of flora found in traditional Japanese gardens. Japanese botanical gardens are highly regarded for their aesthetic qualities.
If you are looking for some Japanese gardens to visit in the United States, there's a number of popular ones you might want to check out. These include:
Anderson Japanese Gardens, Rockford, Illinois
Located at 318 Spring Creek Road in Rockford, Illinois and reachable by phone at 815-229-9390.
The Anderson Japanese Gardens sit on a 12-acre patch of land in Rockford Illinois, just north of downtown and east of the Rock River. Areas of interest include a pond strolling garden, guest house, tea house, west waterfall, the main and Cypress bridges, garden of reflection, and conversation area.
If you'd like to check out the place before your visit or simply have a keepsake to remember the garden by, you should really check out this 70 page book which features photographs from the Anderson Japanese Gardens.
Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden, Long Beach, California
Located at 1250 Bellflower Blvd in Long Beach, California and reachable by phone at 562-985-8885.
Situated on the campus of California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden is a 1.3-acre garden that features a teahouse, stone carvings, lanterns, koi pond, the moon and zig zag bridges and a dry garden.
Hayward Area Recreation Japanese Gardens, Hayward, California
Located at 22325 N 3rd Street in Hayward, California and reachable by phone at 510-881-6715.
The Japanese Gardens of the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District is located next to the Hayward Senior Center in Hayward, California and is a popular wedding site. This particular Japanese garden is the oldest of its kind (traditionally designed) in California and features a teahouse, koi pond, and botanical gardens.
Hermann Park Conservancy Japanese Garden, Houston, Texas
Located at 6000 Fannin Street in Houston, Texas and reachable by phone at 713-524-5876.
Recently undergoing restorations, the Japanese Garden in the Hermann Park Conservancy is located in Houston, Texas and includes a teahouse and many types of flora including the Oga lotus, Taiwan cherry tree, Japanese black pine, Japanese apricot, Japanese maple, fragrant olive, Japanese wisteria, Japanese camellia, heavenly bamboo, and indica Hybrid-George Tabor.
Osaka Garden, Chicago, Illinois
Located at 5800 South Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois and reachable by phone at 312-742-7529.
Built in 1893 for the World's Columbian Exposition, the Osaka Garden is located within Jackson Park in Chicago. The garden, considered a Japanese stroll garden, consists of water fountains, bridges, and stone-cut Japanese lanterns.
Portland Japanese Garden, Portland, Oregon
Located at 611 SW Kingston Avenue in Portland, Oregon and reachable by phone at 503-223-1321.
The Portland Japanese Garden opened in 1967 and sits on 5.5 acres of beautiful landscapes in Washington Park. Their featured gardens to enjoy include a flat garden, strolling pond garden, tea garden, natural garden, and a sand and stone garden.
There's a lot of stunningly beautify pieces of wall art featuring the Portland Japanese Garden. If you'd like to add them to your decor, you should definitely check them out. While you're at it, if you are into Japanese wall art, check out our choices for the best Japanese cherry blossom wall decals.
Ro Ho En, Phoenix, Arizona
Located at 1125 N 3rd Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona and reachable by phone at 602-256-3204.
Ro Ho En, the Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix, is a 3.5-acre traditional strolling garden in Phoenix, Arizona. While at the garden, be sure to enjoy a traditional tea ceremony and tour of the garden. Garden features include bridges, lanterns, flowing water, and a fully stocked koi pond.
Seattle Japanese Garden, Seattle, Washington
Located at 1075 Lake Washington Blvd East in Seattle, Washington and reachable by phone at 206-684-4725.
The Seattle Japanese Garden, part of the UW Botanic Gardens, sits on 3.5 acres in Seattle's Madison Park neighborhood at the Washington Park Arboretum. Designed in 1960 by Juki Iida, the garden comes complete with tea demonstrations and presentations in their Shoseian Teahouse.
The Japanese Garden, Los Angeles, California
Located at 6100 Woodley Avenue in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California and reachable by phone at 818-756-8166.
The Japanese Garden in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles is situated on 6.5 acres at the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant near Woodley Park in the San Fernando Valley. The garden features 4 types of traditional lanterns including NureSagi, Kasuga, Yukimi Doro, and Daikoku. The garden also features many types of trees including black pine, weeping peach, cherry, ginkgo, peach, and willow.
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