Huntington Library’s Japanese Garden

The Japanese Garden at the Huntington Libary in San Marino is quite big. Yes, it’s not small like the one at CSULB and definitely far from tiny like the one at Descanso. It wasn’t my first time visiting the Huntington Libary but it’d been some time since I last visited and I must say that time around, I recall I had the opportunity to explore and appreciate Huntington Library’s Japanese Garden.

From what I know, the Huntington Library is in the process of building an addition to the Japanese Garden. I’m not completely sure what the structure will be but from what I heard, it’s authentic and will be imported from Japan. Nice, except it won’t be open until some time near 2024, I believe.

Anyway, the Japanese Garden is adjacent to the Chinese Garden, a tiny garden when compared to that of the Japanese Garden but it might just look a lot smaller than it actually is since it also serves as a site for food and drinks. If you avoid two food areas, the Chinese Garden is going to look that much smaller and it was that much smaller for me this time around since I avoided the overpriced food. Looking back, I was kind of hungry and should have just splurged on something…

From the Chinese Garden, you go through an elevated path that leads you into the Japanese Garden. I like this path because it almost feels as if you’re in another world. Like, you’re not in a city anymore. You’re just almost one with nature.

There’s a dark brown wooden Japanese house I’d love to live in for fun but I think it serves as a “museum” showcasing kimono, a doll and other stuff. I think it’s off limits for you to go in but it’s definitely the type of house I’d love to experience living in. Very ol’ school and very fitting with the Japanese Garden ambiance. A bamboo path nearby lets you enjoy a waterfall and eventually leads you to a zen garden, along with a bunch of bonsai trees.

You can easily discover random paths to explore. At one point, I even discovered the back of a house (tea house). As I went further, I managed to cross a bridge over running water which led me to a very scenic area along with a view of the front of the house (tea house). It was nice, although a bit of a bummer that the tea house was yet another structure not meant for people to go into.

The pathway I took from the Chinese Garden allowed me to enjoy the Japanese Garden from the top of the garden. If you come from elsewhere, you might have to walk uphill to get to the two “houses”. I don’t think it’s steep but it can be tiring when you consider how much more walking you’ll have to do, not just with the Japanese Garden but with the many other gardens of the Huntington Library.

At the bottom of the Japanese Garden, you can enjoy the arching bridge, which you can’t go on, a pond, koi and Buddhist statues. Yes, Buddhist statues.

I don’t know how I feel about the Buddhist statues. I say this because the Buddhist statues weren’t in a noticeable area and weren’t located in the more elevated areas of the garden, either. I found it strange. I know people like to use Buddhist statues as garden decor but this seemed off to me since it wasn’t like this was a Japanese temple garden or was it an attempt of being one? So, I must say I wasn’t really feeling it much.

If you cross the garden, you might think there’s only a waiting area, but there’s actually a big bell and additional Buddhist statues you can see up close. Very interesting. I don’t think many people notice this either since you actually have to climb up a bit to see it.

Further, there’s a bamboo garden with shisas guarding it. I didn’t finish the path but it didn’t look like a long path. I might give it a try next time around, whenever that may be. (I say this because tickets to the Huntington Library aren’t cheap but I understand the pricing since the grounds are well kept.) As mentioned earlier, the Huntington Library has a lot of gardens and I’ll be blogging about them soon.

**Click HERE to watch my video of Huntington Libary’s Japanese Garden!**