The Best Japanese Gardens Outside Japan
The Japanese garden has crossed the world more thoroughly than almost any other garden style. Many of the gardens that bear the name are weak gestures; a handful are world-class. These are the ones built and curated to standards their Japanese designers would recognise.
Portland Japanese Garden, Oregon, USA
Often cited by the Japanese ambassador as the finest Japanese garden outside Japan, designed in 1963 by Takuma Tono with five distinct garden types — flat, strolling, dry, tea and natural. The Cultural Village expansion by Kengo Kuma (2017) adds contemporary architectural depth.
Sankeien Garden Influence — Anderson Japanese Gardens, Rockford, Illinois
Created from 1978 by businessman John Anderson with Hoichi Kurisu as designer, on a former gravel pit. A textbook example of Japanese stroll garden design adapted to a continental climate.
Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco
The oldest Japanese garden in the United States, created for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition. Designed by Makoto Hagiwara, whose family also developed the fortune cookie here.
Hannover-Herrenhausen Japanese Garden, Germany
Within the Herrenhausen Gardens, a careful 2000 reconstruction designed by Shojiro Nomura with traditional materials shipped from Japan.
Hasselt Japanese Garden, Belgium
The largest Japanese garden in Europe, opened 1992, designed by Inoue Takaaki of Itami. Particularly strong on the tea ceremony pavilion and the chadeisha (waiting bench).
Jardín Japonés, Buenos Aires
Opened 1967 to commemorate the visit of Akihito (then Crown Prince), with a koi-filled lake and over fifty species of bonsai and ornamental cherry. Particularly busy during hanami in late September.
Cowra Japanese Garden, Australia
Created on the site of a Japanese POW camp where mass breakouts occurred in WWII, designed by Ken Nakajima from 1979. A garden of reconciliation as much as horticultural ambition.
Hamilton Japanese Garden of Contemplation, New Zealand
Within Hamilton Gardens, a strict karesansui (dry garden) designed under the supervision of Shoichi Tatemoto.
Adachi Museum Garden Replica — Garvan Woodland Gardens, Arkansas, USA
A working interpretation of the Adachi Museum aesthetic — meticulously raked gravel and pruned pines — adapted to American hardwoods.
From reading to planning
All of the gardens mentioned in this article are pinned on the interactive map. Use it to plan a route, group nearby sites into a single trip, or compare gardens by style and season.