The Japanese Garden at CSULB

I decided to visit the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden, which is located on the campus of CSU Long Beach. I’d been there before so I knew what to expect, however I must say that things have changed a bit from the last time I visited this garden.

For starters, an online reservation system is now in place. I’m not sure if they implemented this during the pandemic or if such a system has been in existence prior to the pandemic. The reservation system is user friendly albeit somewhat of a nuisance to have to do. Translation: The Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden is no longer a place you can just visit on a whim whenever you happen to be in the area during their hours of operation. And that kind of sucks for people that like to do things on a whim…

Fortunately, entrance to the garden is still free. I’m not sure of the specifics but it seems the garden actually charged an admission fee for a period of time… With overpriced parking costs, I’m sure an admission fee turned off a lot of people. Thank goodness they did away with having a fee to enter!

At the time of writing this entry, parking is $4 for 30 minutes and $6 for 1 hour. Honestly, the average visitor wouldn’t spend more than an hour at this garden. I can imagine a few students taking advantage of the garden as a place to get respite from the hectic campus but this is a rarity and you probably won’t find this garden busy on a weekday unless they’re holding some type of an event. (I suppose this is where the reservation system comes in handy as you can actually see how many spots are available during each available time slot.)

I’ve blogged about this garden before and I must say that I liked it a lot more the first time I visited. It looked prettier then for some reason.

As nice of a garden as it is, I must say that it’s not worth traveling to this garden specifically. It’s a place you want to visit only if you know you’re going to be in the Long Beach area. Keep in mind that campus parking isn’t cheap and gas isn’t cheap either.

The only good thing about their parking in lot G4 (across from the garden) is that they offer short term parking. Park elsewhere and you’ll probably have to pay for a one day permit. So, when you decide to come and aren’t going to be here for a full day, opt for the green spaces where you can pay for short term parking.

Although I mentioned that the garden looked a lot prettier the first time I saw it, I must say that the garden is well maintained. All of the plants looked healthy and the koi (fish) were big. I saw small fishes which might have been koi offspring? If they are koi offspring, it’ll probably save the garden a lot of money from having to buy additional adult koi in the future. LOL

So, I expected to see koi but what I didn’t expect to see was a hummingbird. It was a pleasant surprise and yes, I caught him/her on video!

There’s also a secluded area in the back of the garden where you’ll find a display of some sort. A long time ago, I saw a bunch of dolls on display. This time around, I saw a samurai doll on display. I wasn’t expecting to see a different display so I was quite pleased to see a samurai doll on display.

I saw some visitors lying down, studying, taking graduation photos (Yes, in their cap and gown!) and feeling the water (probably trying to touch the koi). All types of people come here, basically. The last time I was here, I remember seeing student artists. That was kind of cool.

I stayed there for as long as I could and called it a day. At the end of the day, I told myself the visit wasn’t worth it. As mentioned earlier, it’s only worth it if you have a need to be in the Long Beach area.

**Click HERE to watch my video of the Japanese Garden at CSULB!**