Seattle Japanese Garden

 The Seattle Japanese Garden is an immaculately manicured Japanese Style garden located within the Washington Park Arboretum on the west side of town. Today was kind of a free day with everybody wanting/needing different things. We picked up a tourist map at the Underground Tour and I noticed this was not terribly far from where we were staying so we decided to do that. We really enjoyed Portland’s Japanese Garden so we should enjoy this as well.

Location: 1075 Lake Washington Blvd E.
Time Needed: About a half hour to an hour.
Cost: Adults $8.00 each.

The Washington Park Arboretum map.

This is a very pretty green area.

After we paid the fee a nice lady asked if we wanted to do a scavenger hunt. We said sure, why not? One of them was to identify all the different maples within the park, which I did. The other was to locate all the different stone carvings, which Landis took. I'm pretty sure it’s meant for children, but I am glad it was offered to us, cause it was kind of fun!

Entering the gardens.

Before long I found my first maple. Japanese Lace Leaf Maple. Check!

It’s super pretty here.

I thought this was one on my list, but it was not. Gotta read the common name and the scientific name too. I think I did find the one on my list later. This one is Japanese Full Moon Maple. I need Fern Leaf Full Moon Maple.

I think this is one of the Stone Stream Lanterns. There are a couple of these.

I found my Japanese Dwarf Leaf Maple.

Little leaves.

Super pretty.

Bridge and stone carving.

Little stream.

More stream.

Interesting berry of some sort.

Little bit of fall color.

Pretty garden.

Gnarly tree.

First view of the pond.

Pretty sure this is the Stone Peninsula Lantern.

Super pretty.

Not sure if this qualifies as a bonsai tree, but it looks like one. Or maybe it is the kind of tree bonsai mimics?

Helping this tree out a bit.

Reflected Lantern.

Cute little wooden bridge.

Outflow.

Another one that is not on my list: Omato

Not on the list: Striped bark maple.

The pond again.

Big mushroom.

This stone carving does not appear to be on our list.

I actually got a shot of the pond without any people in it. Sweet.

The pond again.

A closer look at the Reflected Lantern.

Big koi fish.

The pond.

One of the things to find on Landis’s list is a statue of a turtle called Resemblance. I thought we had found it!

Then it blinked. Oh. It’s a live turtle. I have only ever found one in the wild once before in my life.

I guessed it was a red eared slider. We talked with one of the guides for a minute and I asked if that was what they were and she said yes! She also said they are not native, but not harmful.

The pond again.

Lions Mane Maple.

The pond again.

We found the Hillside Lantern.

You can see through it, and can see the coins for luck? I think.

The plaque for the donor.

The pond from the hilltop.

Turtles and koi.

How many turtles do you see?

Well I found 4, if you find another one let me know haha. I was really surprised to see so many turtles in one spot.

Neat tree.

Closer to the turtles on the shore.

With a koi.

I got the pond without any people again!

I might have been a little obsessed with the turtles.

Koi.

No people again. Wewt!

From the side.

From a little bit above.

A squat tree.

Congregating koi, and another turtle swimming about.

The turtles on the rock and I am pretty sure that is another Stone Stream Lantern.

The pond again.

Turtle and koi again.

Front side of the pond.

‘Samidare’ Japanese Maple. Check.

Turtle and koi again. I was enjoying watching him swim.

Little koi.

Front of the pond again.

Front of the pond. There are some lily blossoms on those water lilies.

With the trees.

Nikko Maple. Not on my list, but I wrote it down anyway.

I thought this was a groundskeeper or maintenance building, but I guess this is the tea garden.

It really is beautiful through here.

A maple that is starting to turn.

Vine Maple. Not on the list.

More forest.

‘Shigitatsu Sawa’ Japanese Maple. Check!

 Ferns.

More forest.

Fern Leaf Full Moon Maple, check!

Little stream.

Below.

Squirrel!

More ferns.

Mushrooms.

We made it to the front but we decided to go through and do some of the crossing paths we missed.

The fork In The Path Lantern. It has a deer carved into it.

The stream again.

Stone steps.

We found the little waterfall.

Little closer.

From the side.

‘Osakazuki akame’ Japanese Maple. Check!

Now I have all my maples except for the paperbark maple. And we still have a few stone carvings to go.

More stepping stones.

The pond and another Stone Stream Lantern.

Some nice reflection.

More pond.

Lots of koi. The turtle moved on.

The front end of the pond.

Back end of the pond.

More autumn crocus.

Back end of the pond again.

The cute little bridge over the stream.

The pond.

Turtle! This makes 7.

One of the 3 water basins.

Little garden.

Another changing Japanese maple.

The lions mane maple again.

The pond again.

Another orb weaver. This one appears to be missing a couple of legs.

Another maple starting to turn.

The waterfall again.

The stream again.

A changing maple.

The bridge again.

Over the stream.

The other direction.

Another water basin.

More forest.

The pond again.

Eventually I accepted defeat and asked one of the guides to help me locate the darn Paperbark Maple.

She guided us towards the area and let us discover it. She asked what made us come to that conclusion and we said, well, the peeling bark.

Then she stated the leaves are different. So what else leads you to believe this is a maple? Landis said the seeds! We got our points. Haha, I know they are used to interacting with kids, but it was still kind of fun being asked leading questions and having to think about it. It reminds me of how my mom interacts with me, since she was a school teacher as well.

This is their trick question. It is the only one without an identifying sign. I think I remember them saying something about it not being a true Japanese species.

Then we said we couldn’t find the turtle statue.

That ended up being close to the entrance. So we thought we found everything. However going through the papers, I don’t think we ever really found the Mountain Pagoda. Landis marked it off, but I don’t have a picture of it. Either way, we both turned in our sheets and got a cute little piece of origami for participating. Like I said, it made it kind of fun. Both of the guides we interacted with were super friendly and knowledgeable. Super fun.

A sign pointing to the park.

The park was super pretty, the scavenger hunts added some fun and informative things to look for. I enjoyed the turtles and koi. 10/10 would recommend.

Our scavenger hunt lists. Yes, we were handed crayons to complete them. They were fun though, so I am glad we got to do them. It made us scrutinize the pretty area a little more than we might have if left to our own devises. 

And our prizes for completing the scavenger hunts.

That was really neat, and really pretty. I am glad we got to experience a little bit of nature. I also enjoyed seeing such a large concentration of turtles in one place. 10/10 would definitely recommend a visit.