HAYWARD’S JAPANESE GARDENS: The best secret place that’s for everyone

If you know, you know: Tucked away in the middle of a residential neighborhood in Hayward, Calif. is a stunning Japanese garden. It’s not a secret place, but walking in, it feels like you have stumbled upon a great one.  The garden is a quiet haven, so quiet that you can hear your footsteps, and […]

Oregon prison’s healing garden offers renewed perspective

In 2014, Johnny Cofer, who is incarcerated at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, Ore. told the institution’s activities director, Patrice Lans, he would love to see a Japanese garden and koi pond outside in the yard of the facility. At the Oregon State Penitentiary, there is an activities department, consisting of 11 clubs, one […]

50 years of good will: San Mateo celebrates Japanese Garden anniversary

SAN MATEO, Calif. — For more than 50 years, San Mateo’s Japanese Garden has served as a symbol of good will and cultural appreciation. Throughout August, the city is commemorating the anniversary of the tranquil 1-acre garden with special events such as a bonsai workshop, martial arts demonstration, evening gala and more at Central Park […]

Plan for commemorative garden draws mixed reactions

As part of the 110th anniversary of San Francisco’s Japantown, the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California proposes to build a Japanese garden commemorating the Issei pioneers that settled in the neighborhood after the 1906 earthquake. Following a July 7 meeting, the community center held a second informational meeting Aug. 11 at the […]

How to make your Japanese garden drought-resistant

With California facing a historic water shortage, the Nichi Bei Weekly asked award-winning landscape architect Takeo Uesugi and his son, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona landscape architect professor Keiji Uesugi, how one can make their Japanese garden drought-resistant. Here is their reply via e-mail. Nichi Bei Weekly: Given the drought facing California, what type of Japanese […]

Creating a sustainable Japanese garden

Interested in installing a Japanese garden, and don’t know the first thing to do? Or perhaps you appreciate Japanese aesthetics, but want to make a more eco-conscious decision to conserve water by installing a dry Japanese garden with low-water plants? The Nichi Bei Weekly asked internationally recognized landscape architect Dr. Takeo Uesugi and his son, […]

Japanese Gardens at The Huntington reopens after year-long renovation

SAN MARINO, Calif. — The historic Japanese Garden at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens reopened to the public April 11. The Japanese garden celebrates its centennial following a year-long renovation and improvement project. The $6.8 million project in the nine-acre garden adds an additional three-quarter-acres to the original garden and a ceremonial […]

Reporting from the Chicago Botanic Garden

Greetings from Chicago, Illinois, where your blogger for Nichi Bei Natural is braving a chilly week with the help of warm friends and family. Headed out to the Chicago Botanic Garden today for a snowy walk around the grounds, and strolled through the popular Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden. Also known as the Sansho-En (it stretches across three […]