Seattle Japanese Garden

 Seattle actually has TWO Japanese Gardens! There's the Kubota Gardens in South Seattle which are more Japanese-inspired, and there's the Seattle Japanese Garden at the south end of the Washington Park Arboretum which is more traditionally Japanese. Before explaining further, I must admit, Portland's Japanese garden is almost 40% bigger than Seattle's, and I much prefer theirs. That being said, it's not a competition, and I certainly enjoyed our little haven of Japanese vegetation.

It's 10 dollars to get in, which honestly is a bit much, given how small it was. We were in an out in under an hour. A price is a factor for you...Kubota Gardens are free!

We went on a random weekend, not knowing anything about when peak blooms and peak colors are. Obviously, you'd get some peak color in the fall, but we went late spring and hoped for the best. We definitely saw some cool sights, but I think we were past peak for a lot of it. It was still beautiful though!

Thank you pollinators!

THATS the view.

The beautiful Great Blue Heron!

Dude's just chillin in his murky water

Heron and Koi!

 

Yes, there's Koi in the Koi pond, and they are HUNGRY! You can feed them for a nominal fee, but make sure you use the food provided by the gardens, they shouldn't be fed outside food.

Very trusting to have the coins sit and stay there! Respect

How nice!

If that isn't a perfect representation of the Japanese Garden. Heron, with a Koi Pond, and a lantern in the background

Nice secluded mossy rocks

Waterfalls too!

In Bloom!

On Saturdays they even have a Tea Ceremony in the Teahouse, which is by reservation only and $15. 

Overall, it was a good way to burn some time on a lazy Sunday afternoon that we had no plans of doing much else!

Big Boi Koi

"May the Light shine Everlastingly upon the Friendship between Kobe and Seattle"