A small Japanese Garden featuring a sunken garden and a waterfall area designed by Tadashi Kubo, a professor of Landscape Architecture in Tokyo, provides guests with a tranquil retreat in the heart of the park.

Most of the building materials, rocks, stone bridge and lanterns were imported from Japan. The building is a two-thirds replica of the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto. The wood used throughout the pavilion is hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa.). Craftsmen traveled from Japan to reconstruct the pavilion from pre-cut wood and build the waterfall in its present site here at SeaWorld. Originally the entire building was put together without the use of any nails; however, due to stringent earthquake building codes, the pavilion was subsequently reinforced with nails.

One resident of the Japanese Garden is the hooded crane (Grus monachus).
Click here to learn more about these unusual-looking birds.

How can I make a Japanese garden at home?