Exploring the Japanese Friendship Garden at Balboa Park in San Diego, California was an unexpected treat.  We arrived at Balboa Park without much of a plan. We started at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion to take some photos of the cool architecture.  As we were walking away from the Organ Pavillion, we came across the entrance to the Japanese Friendship Garden. Outside the garden gate is a small cafe serving tea, sushi, Japanese salads, and noodle dishes. We stopped for a bite to eat before entering the garden.

Japanese Friendship Garden

The Japanese Friendship Garden is named San-Kei-En meaning “Three Scene Garden: Water Pastoral and Mountain.” The garden takes its name from the original garden in Yokohama, Japan. Yokohama is San Diego’s sister city. The stone at the entrance to the garden is inscribed with the Kanji characters of the garden’s name.

Admission

If you’re a fan of botanical gardens and have a membership to your home-area garden, you may have reciprocal membership benefits here.  If not, the entrance fee is $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, and children six and under are free.

The garden is open daily from 10 am – 7 pm with the last admission at 6 pm. Food isn’t permitted in the gardens, but drinks are allowed. We purchased spiced apple kombucha at the tea pavilion to carry with us in the garden.

Flowers

The garden flowers are ever-changing depending on the month of your visit.  We visited in late October and didn’t expect to see many flowers. We were wrong!  There were beautiful flowers throughout the garden. The Japanese Cherry and Flowering Peach trees typically bloom in early spring (February, March, and April.) In the later spring (March-April), there are more flowering trees such as the Bradford Pear, Chinese Fringe, and Japanese Wisteria. Visiting during May-June, you’ll see Flowering Gardenia, Star Jasmine, and Yellow Day-lilies. Summer months of June and July will showcase Crape Myrtle, Magnolia, and Hydrangea in full bloom.

Here are some examples of what we saw during our late October visit.

The garden follows the traditional design principles of a Japanese Garden yet incorporates the regional California landscape and plants suitable to the local climate.

A peaceful stroll through the gardens was the perfect relaxing activity for the afternoon.

The Shishi-odoshi is a device originally used by farmers to startle animals away from eating crops.  The name Shishi-odoshi literally translates to “scare the deer.”

Lanterns

All along the pathways of the garden, you’ll find Oribe-doro among the greenery.  Named after the warlord and tea-master who first used this type of lantern to light the path for tea ceremony guests.

Koi Pond

The beautiful, colorful koi swimming in the koi pond are show quality koi that have been cared for by the Koi Club of San Diego.

The garden was carefully planned with curving pathways to discourage evil spirits from entering. Some of the paths are stepping stones which help to focus guests’ attention on the present as they stroll along.

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Bonsai

The bonsai exhibit showcases several examples of the art of bonsai which means “tray planting.” The goal of bonsai is to produce a miniature plant in perfect proportion to its container.

Dragon Bridge

The Dragon Bridge is considered a symbol of good luck, power, and strength in East Asian culture. The water running through the garden bubbles happily along the streams and waterfalls.

A visit to the Japanese Botanical Garden in San Diego, California can take as little as one hour if you move quickly along the walkways. If you enjoy strolling along the peaceful pathways photographing the diverse plants and water features you could spend several enjoyable hours in this calm oasis.

Have you visited a Japanese-style garden? What was your favorite part?

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