Japanese Friendship Garden, San Diego CA

Beautiful place to visit. We took our Mom for her birthday and she loved it! There was a wedding set up and it looked beautiful. They also seem to be expanding!

Can't believe I have never taken the time to visit the Japanese friendship garden. I absolutely lobe this place. I went early to try and get as much time in the garden before it got too busy. It is a beautiful place. Had some time to myself up by the budha statue and when I turned around there was a hawk casually sitting at the edge of the waterfall. Everything about this place is amazing: the koi fish (much larger than I expected!), the pond, the waterfalls, the rock pathways across the water creak, the bridge and the last waterfall that ends in the pond at the bottom of the garden has a breathtaking view. Unfortunately I was too awstruck to take pictures; I was trying to take it all in. Must visit in San Diego! I mean it's in Balboa, how can't you?

This to me is my secret garden and I like to go in the morning during the week before the people get there. Great place to meditate. They even have some fun classes in floral arrangement. Check it out.

I don’t know what others are complaining about but this is one of the best Japanese gardens I’ve visited, including on my 4 trips to Japan. Personally I liked it better than even the famous Kenrokuen Garden in Kanazawa. Perhaps, it’s not a good place to visit for families with kids, but no Japanese garden is, as they aren’t meant to be as much as tourist attractions as quiet places for contemplation.

Located within the iconic Balboa Park in San Diego, the Japanese friendship garden offers a serene break from the hustle and bustle of Southern California life. Immediately upon entering you feel a sense of calm and are surrounded by beauty and quiet. Koi ponds, zen garden, traveling art, and bonsai trees all help create the atmosphere and ambiance.

The park is great. This review is for the San Diego Sake Festival event the organization hosted.

The Sake Festival was bad. Unprofessional, inconvenient, waste of both time and money.

First they made people standing wait in line for 40 minutes. Then it turns out you paid money to be marketed to.

Food is hard, mostly impossible, to find and appears only occasionally. You can get it outside, but you can't step out with a drink. The food in total is probably worth $10 - that is if you manage to use the coupons they give you. A few bar tables are taken, most people struggle to juggle food, utensils, glasses - complete customer disrespect from organizers.

Drink vendors are very busy and launch into long explanations - repeating to each customer. Many have three-layered circle of waiting patrons - prepare to wait 10 minutes for a 1/2 ounce sake pour. So if you hope to taste 4-5 varieties and want to spend time "enjoying" - that is 40% time waiting in the crowd or of the two hours you will spend. I only had patience for two tries.

Announcements and the "program" are another joke. The acoustic is horrible, no one around us was able to understand a thing. Those who managed to grab a table and cling to it have no way to see or hear what is going on. Other patrons could not see a thing - or squeeze themselves closer to the action due to the thick crowd.

This is total paying customer disrespect and inept organization. Save yourself an evening, go somewhere else for the money. $65 ain't worth it being treated as cattle.

The park is awesome, come visit when there is no crowd.

From the moment you enter this place takes your breath away. It was such an amazing day here. You get to see so many beautiful koi fish, bonsi trees, waterfall and traditional Japanese house. It such a peaceful place. Great for a picnic and children friendly. They had a public speaker who was a Hiroshima survivor. I just wish the gift shop was better and utilized its space to have more things.

It was already noontime
not able to explore the garden. We were just several feet from the ticket
booth saw some bonsai & bamboo trees.

Its not free.not paying $20 to walk through a garden. Maybe that was our fault for not looking that up prior to visiting

Beatifully maintained park. Very serene water features with trails that offer stable footing and handicap accessibility.

Beautiful, ever-so-carefully maintained garden that speaks peace in every direction and exhibit. A couple of bonsai trees were receiving a snip here and there after careful consideration. Water features, koi ponds, and plant life you'll be wishing you could have in your backyard. A very tranquil place.

Great place to have a family birthday just see what you have to do to reserve the spot. Also the coffee Shack right there is a prime spot with really good people working there.

I'm a San Diego native and never went here because I'm cheap and didn't want to pay but I finally did and am so glad. It was beautiful and we got some cute pictures! There's a little trail leading down to the garden where there's like two bridges over the water.

Didn't get down to the koi ponds but the cafe at street level had an interesting menu of soups, rice bowls, and tea. The food was okay but not exciting.