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All 88 San Jose Attractions »

Japanese Friendship Garden

Off Senter Road between Keyes and Phelan, San Jose, CA 95112
408-287-2290
Ranked #15 of 63 attractions in San Jose
4.5 of 5 stars 10 Reviews
Type: Gardens
Description: This well-maintained park covers six acres of manicured landscape, waterfalls, bridges and bonzai plants.
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10 reviews from our community

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    5
    1
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Date Rating
Sunnyvale, California
Senior Reviewer
9 reviews 9 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 22 April 2012

Nice, relaxing spot with good photo ops. I especially like the big pond and coy fish. It'd be a good place to take family or a date for a picnic. More

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See 2 more reviews by Susan D for San Jose
Contributor
14 reviews 14 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 6 April 2012

Great place for a stroll or picnic. Nicely manicured, clean, well maintained. More

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See 7 more reviews by Raysunlover for San Jose
2 reviews
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 2 April 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Free parking in weekdays, free entrance. This quaint garden is well kept and clean. Although the tea room was closed when we visited, it's something to check out on the weekends. The pond had ducks, guppies and a couple of koi fish hiding underneath the bridge. This pond would be breathtaking if there had more koi fish. They had planted... More

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San Ramon, California
Senior Reviewer
6 reviews 6 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 17 March 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Wonderful place for a picnic lunch. Located across the parking lot from Happy Hollow. More

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San Jose
Senior Contributor
23 reviews 23 reviews
Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
17 helpful votes 17 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 30 January 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Good place to take a date or the children just to walk around and take a few pictures or sit on the benches. Similar to Asian gardens I've seen abroad, I'd recommend this little part of Kelly Park and maybe walk to the historic town part too. I think it's all free, but they might charge parking on some days... More

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See 2 more reviews by travel6345 for San Jose
Modesto
Top Contributor
83 reviews 83 reviews
Reviews in 38 cities Reviews in 38 cities
40 helpful votes 40 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 19 January 2012

This is one of the best Japanese Gardens in the United States. Allow at least one hour to check it out! More

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See 4 more reviews by Modestotrekkerl for San Jose
Dallas, Georgia
Contributor
11 reviews 11 reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 5 January 2012
1
person found this review helpful

It's free to get it and a peaceful place to be. There's no Koi since "people stole them or a lot of them died" per personnel, but they're expected to have them again sometime this year- July, I believe. Cons: the water is a murky, dirty green color....maybe that's why the Koi went bye bye? More

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See 3 more reviews by AppleRN for San Jose
San Jose, California
Contributor
11 reviews 11 reviews
Reviews in 4 cities Reviews in 4 cities
9 helpful votes 9 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 8 November 2011
2
people found this review helpful

Been here three times already! It is a pretty decent size garden which will take a good hour of your time to fully see everything, but you will want to stay longer. This garden was suppose to be a replica of gardens from one of San Jose's sister cities, Okayama, Japan. There are streams, a waterfall and a tea house.... More

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See 5 more reviews by Ecilaluvitall for San Jose
San Francisco
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 9 October 2009
1
person found this review helpful

Last week was our second trip to the park. I wanted to show my daughter the koi fish in the garden. But the pond was dry and most fish had died of some virus. There was a notice saying that they are cleaning the pond and will restock the pond with more fish in March, 2010. The garden is not... More

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A TripAdvisor Member
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 2 March 2002
13
people found this review helpful

This beautiful garden has many different types of plants including cherry trees. There are two huge ponds filled with koi that you can feed. Many pathways are available to stroll upon. However some are steep. There is also a tea house where you can have tea and snacks. More

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