The Japanese Garden is popular with Valley residents, tourists and moviemakers
Usa today news
The Japanese Garden is a beautiful space, carefully cared for in Van Nuys. Its full name is “The Japanese Garden – Suiho En” — Suiho En meaning “the garden of water and fragrance.” The site is popular with tourists, San Fernando Valley residents, wildlife and moviemakers. The garden has been the backdrop in several films and television shows, including Starfleet Academy from Star Trek.
Opened in June 1984, the gardens were designed by Koichi Kawana, a famed landscape architect. The 6.5-acre garden includes a Zen meditation garden and a tea garden with an authentic tea house.
Martin and Monica Bernard, of Sherman Oaks, celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary with their first stroll through SuihoEn – The Japanese Garden in Van Nuys on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. SuihoEn, meaning the garden of water and fragrance, uses treated water from the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A great egret flies in SuihoEn – The Japanese Garden in Van Nuys on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. SuihoEn, meaning the garden of water and fragrance, uses treated water from the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Jenny Seals, 26, of Dallas and her sister Susie Powell, 34, of Sherman Oaks, visit SuihoEn – The Japanese Garden in Van Nuys on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025 during Seal’s visit to Los Angeles. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A lotus seed pod is seen in SuihoEn – The Japanese Garden in Van Nuys on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. SuihoEn, meaning the garden of water and fragrance, uses treated water from the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A fountain is seen in SuihoEn – The Japanese Garden in Van Nuys on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. SuihoEn, meaning the garden of water and fragrance, uses treated water from the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
People visit the SuihoEn – The Japanese Garden in Van Nuys on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. SuihoEn, meaning the garden of water and fragrance, uses treated water from the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
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Martin and Monica Bernard, of Sherman Oaks, celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary with their first stroll through SuihoEn – The Japanese Garden in Van Nuys on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. SuihoEn, meaning the garden of water and fragrance, uses treated water from the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The garden’s purpose in part was to show that reclaimed water could support a delicate environment. The Japanese Garden is irrigated with recycled water from the Donald C Tillman Water Reclamation Plant right next to the garden.
The Japanese Garden has been ranked 10th out of 300 public Japanese gardens in the U.S. by the Journal of Japanese Gardening.
