Who doesn’t love the serenity and beauty of a Japanese garden? The essence of these spaces has been refined in Japan for more than a thousand years, from Indigenous sacred rock gardens to the unique landscapes with soothing sounds and textures of today.
The most important elements in any Japanese garden are water, rocks, sand and plantings. The placement of each element is meticulously planned to create an artistic and spiritual composition, replicating in miniature natural elements such as streams, rivers, ponds, waterfalls, mountains and hills.
Rocks, typically a decorative element in your average garden, are much more important in the landscape here, as they are reminders of natural features such as mountains.
Even today, the influence of Chinese culture, the Shinto religion and Zen Buddhism can be felt in rock gardens carefully raked to resemble water designed for reflection and meditation. You can also typically find bridges and stone lanterns as architectural elements. Plantings tend toward evergreens, so the garden is beautiful all year round.
Japanese gardens invite us to meditate on nature, as we stroll their paths and contemplate their ponds and waterfalls.
For those of us who can’t travel to see them in Japan, there’s good news. We have some beautiful ones right here in Southern California. And some are even free to visit.
Read on to learn about a few you might want to check out.
Shoseian “Whispering Pine” Japanese Teahouse and Friendship Garden
This small garden with a koi pond and rock stream is located inside Glendale’s 31-acre Brand Park. The garden is open and free to the public Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and is adjacent to the Shoseian Teahouse, which was built in 1974 and refurbished in 2019. The teahouse is only open to the public for its monthly events, which have included instruction in tea ceremonies and other Japanese arts such as shiatsu.
1601 West Mountain Street, Glendale. (818) 548-3782. glendaleteahouse.org
Descanso Gardens
The Japanese Garden is located near the entrance to La Cañada Flintridge’s famed 150-acre botanical space. Opened in 1966, the Japanese garden includes streams, ponds, a strolling garden, a tea garden and raked-gravel karesansui. The blue-tiled tea house is modeled after a traditional Japanese farmhouse. Interestingly, the garden includes two trees that were survivors of the atomic bomb blast in Hiroshima in 1945. They were a gift in 2020 from the Rotary Heiwa: Hiroshima Survivor Tree group to help spread their message of peace and hope for a nuclear-free world. The landscaping was designed by Eijiro Nunokawa, a well-known landscape architect. It includes Japanese maples, pines, camellias, azaleas, cherry trees, and mondo grass. Open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. Adult admission is $15.
1418 Descanso Dr, La Cañada Flintridge, (818) 949-4200. descansogardens.org
The Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden
This picturesque space on the Cal State Long Beach campus is tiny but charming, 1.3 acres with a koi pond, Zen Garden, tea house and winding pathways. It was dedicated in 1981 and is part of the Cal State Long Beach College of Health and Human Services. It’s free to visit, but you must pay the campus visitor parking fee, unless you can find free street parking (but look out for signs indicating where permits are required). Always closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and hours vary, so visitors are asked to make an online reservation. No food or drink, no running, and no professional photography without a permit. Strolling permitted. Check the website for events like yoga, summer concerts, and sound baths.
Cal State Long Beach campus on Determination Dr., between Beach and Atherton Dr., just east of Bellflower Blvd. 562-985-8420. csulb.edu/earl-burns-miller-japanese-garden
The Huntington Library and Gardens
The Japanese Garden at this world-class botanical garden, library and art gallery in San Marino is more than 100 years old. It comprises nine acres and offers American interpretations of Japanese art and culture, including a Zen garden, a rounded Moon Bridge built in 1913, a ceremonial tea house from Kyoto with a tea garden, a Japanese house built in Japan in 1904 and plantings such as pine trees, cycads, junipers, water lilies and lotuses. The Bonsai Court includes miniature living trees that have been carefully sculpted in this unique art form.
1151 Oxford Rd. San Marino. 626-405-2100. huntington.org/japanese-garden
The Doris Japanese Garden at the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
This small garden is part of a much larger 308-acre regional park that allows hiking, sports, fishing and picnicking. There’s a large koi pond with turtles, lily pads and a decorative bridge. Stroll the path to see the waterfall and continue on the north trail, which opens onto a great view of the Los Angeles skyline. Then head down to the paved Great Loop trail, where a decorative path will take you back to the parking lot. This park also has restrooms, playgrounds, a duck pond, waterfalls and a man-made creek. This loop is 2.2 miles in total, mostly easy and suitable for strollers and wheelchairs. Weekend and holiday entrance fee is $7 per car.
4100 S. La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles. (323) 298-3660. parks.lacounty.gov/kenneth-hahn-state-recreation-area
Suiho-En, the Japanese Garden
This 6.5-acre garden in Van Nuys is free to visit, and includes a dry Zen meditation garden, a water strolling garden, a decorative tea house and a tea garden. (In July 2025, the Zen garden, wisteria arbor and Tortoise Island were closed for renovations.) The water garden includes a waterfall, lakes, and streams. There’s also a bridge and stone lanterns. This garden is owned by the city of Los Angeles and is a demonstration garden showing what can be done with reclaimed water. The garden is open 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, closed Fridays-Sundays and all city of Los Angeles and federal holidays. Also, within 24 hours of rainfall. Note that it’s open for specific events on occasional Sundays.
6100 Woodley Ave, Van Nuys (213) 791-0238 thejapanesegarden.com