San Diego hides one of its calmest corners inside Balboa Park. The Japanese Friendship Garden & Museum, at 2215 Pan American Road East, spreads across 10 acres of winding paths, koi ponds, stone lanterns and carefully shaped pines — a living expression of friendship between San Diego and its sister city, Yokohama, Japan.
The garden opened to the public in 1991 and grew in stages. A second phase designed by renowned landscape architect Takeo Uesugi opened in 1999, adding the Exhibit Hall, the Activity Center and the Upper Koi Pond. The third phase, completed in 2015, brought a grove of 200 cherry trees, a large azalea and camellia garden, a water feature inspired by the San Diego watershed and the modern Inamori Pavilion.
Today this accredited, nonprofit museum garden welcomes more than 330,000 visitors a year. Guests stroll from the upper garden down into a canyon of maples and camellias, watch colorful koi glide under wooden bridges, and pause in quiet spots made for reflection. Rotating exhibits, cultural festivals and educational programs keep every visit a little different, and spring cherry blossom season is a local favorite.
The garden is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with last admission at 5 p.m. General admission is $16; students, seniors and active military pay $14, and children ages 6 and under enter free. Some paths are steep or narrow, so comfortable closed-toe shoes are a good idea. For a peaceful hour in the middle of the city, Happy City News cannot recommend a lovelier stop.
Photo: Fastily / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
