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Parks › Micke Grove Regional Park › Japanese Garden

Japanese Garden

Japanese Garden (Cap. 175 - CEREMONY ONLY, FOOD & DRINK PROHIBITED)

Visiting hours 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday - Sunday and holidays.
Reservations must be paid in full at time of booking. 

This beautiful Japanese Garden had its beginnings in 1959 through the guidance of “Duke” Yoshimura. Born in Sacramento and educated in Japan, Yoshimura had returned to the United States, entering high school to learn English. “Duke” would come to serve in the armed forces during World War II, where he also taught judo.

In 1959, “Duke” came to work in Micke Grove Park and asked Mr. William Micke for permission to build a Japanese Garden for the Japanese community to show solidarity with the people of San Joaquin County. Mr. Micke thought it was a wonderful idea and set aside three acres for the garden.

A committee of residents from Stockton, Lodi and French Camp was formed to solicit $5,000 in pledges and approximately 100 hours of volunteer labor from each member of the Japanese Gardeners Club.

“Duke” contacted Nagao Sakurai, who had served 20 years as landscape architect at the Imperial Palace in Japan before coming to design gardens in the United States. Mr. Sakurai agreed to design the garden, and it was dedicated in April, 1965.

The garden is surrounded by 60 Kwanzan flowering cherry trees with five Akibono flowering cherry trees in the central area of the garden.

Three religions have an influence in the garden. Shintoism is expressed in the use of stones, Buddhism is visible in the use of lanterns and Taoism is manifested in the islands.

There are 11 lanterns in the garden, all being stone except for one which is concrete. The five-story pagoda lantern situated on the north hill was donated by Lodi’s sister city; Kofu, Japan. Each story is representative of fire, water, earth, air and atmosphere. The long rod on the top has nine rings and has a kinship to Buddha. The flame-shaped tip denotes protection against fire.

Koi fish in the pond have been known to live for 200 years. The fish, with ring markings on its scales designating age, can grow to three feet in length. Colors range from red, blue, white, brown, black and yellow.

The garden’s angle bridge represents Chinese belief that evil spirits travel in a low straight line, therefore unable to follow across this bridge. The red arch bridge, meanwhile, is of typical Japanese design and includes eight bronze lotus flower bud finials.

The large building in the garden is a pavilion designed by Hoji Wada of Stockton, who also designed the garden’s entrance gate. It provides a beautiful backdrop for outdoor weddings, which are popular in the garden.
*NEW FEE SCHEDULE AS OF JULY 1, 2024

Cost

Discounted Parking Available for Memorial Building and/or Garden (pre-purchased passes only)

Processing/cancellation

  • Processing fee - $10
  • Cancellation fee:
    • Date/site change or cancellations prior to 21 days (picnic shelters) - $25 or prior to 90 days (Memorial Building/Garden) - $50
    • Date/site change or cancellations within 21 days (picnic shelters) or 90 days (Memorial Building/Garden) - Lose entire rental fee minus deposit

Contact

(209) 953-8800 or 331-7400

(Parks office is located at Micke Grove Regional Park’s Memorial Building, across from Japanese Garden).

General E-mail: parks@sjgov.org

Facilities Information

Ceremony only. Up to 150 white folding chairs provided. 

Check Availability

The Japanese Garden Bridge
 
The Japanese Garden Path
 
The Japanese Garden Entry
 
The Japanese Garden
 

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