The stone lantern at the start of our exploration of Rohoen Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix which is designed in the hide-and-reveal style. I wrote about more exciting parts of the weekend with Japanese gardens, guests and fire HERE.

Our docent guide was in her late 70s, from Japan and was a foreign exchange student when she came to the US. She laughed and said she was into “rock and roll” and loved the West.

She explained the meaning of the garden’s name Rohoen:

The characters on the brochure are our gardens name, Rohoen (鷺鳳園), and represent the following:

鷺 Ro – Japanese word for Heron, a symbol of Himeji City. Shira Sagi Jou, or the White Heron, is the name of the famous Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Himeji City is the sister city of Phoenix.)

鳳 Ho – Japanese word for the mythical Phoenix bird.

園 En – Japanese word for Garden.

How amazing it is to have an authentic Japanese garden in the middle of a desert? The architect and designers from Japan had to find native desert plants and others that would thrive in a climate very different than Japan. Only 17 out of the 107 varieties of plants are Japanese.

From the Visitor’s Guide:

The Japanese Friendship Garden, Rohoen, is an authentic Japanese stroll garden designed by Mr. Nozomu Okita in the traditional miegkaure (見え隠れ) style. Miegakure, or hide-and-reveal design, is prevalent in Japanese stroll gardens where the entirety of the garden is never visible at once. Instead, the viewer is led to uncover intentionally hidden views of the landscape while strolling along its curved paths. New visual compositions are revealed as one moves through the various garden regions. Each rock, plant, and ornament has been selected and placed with skill and sensitivity. 

Kasuga-doro (春日灯籠, stone lantern from Kasuga) are the style of lantern most frequently used in Japanese gardens. They originated at the Kasuga shrine in Nara, Japan’s ninth century capital. Our ten-foot tall Kasuga-doro is our main lookout point, where the garden’s four distinct landscapes are easily viewed. These include the low-lying grasslands, the woodlands, forested mountains, and stone beaches. 

Out friends from our swim team days are into gardening. Especially Japanese gardens. They planned a trip to Phoenix from Palm Springs to visit the garden and stayed with us. They have flown to Portland, Oregon to see a Japanese garden. They are planning a trip next year to Japan to see more Japanese gardens and have invited us to join them. We’re thinking about it.

At their home, they have Japanese elements like olive trees pruned in the bonzai style. They are building a koi pond. Also, their amazing garden has mangos, peaches, mulberries, and other fruit and many vegetables.

Our guests brought us fruit from their garden:

Fresh peaches from Palm Springs. I never knew peaches grew there. I thought it was too hot.

Two of the basket of mulberries they brought us. I’ve never seen or tasted a mulberry before. They are super sweet and juicy, and filled with health benefits like vitamin C, iron, and mulberries help reduce cholesterol, blood sugar and cancer risk!

Here are photos from our tour:

Looking back at the lantern from across the koi pond.

A cormorant on a rock in the water.

Shachi, a mythical creature with a dragon head and fish body.

I learned that a true bonzai has to be in a pot. There were many trees in the garden that were pruned in the bonzai style.

One last beautiful view of the garden’s many shades of green. It was so special to visit the Japanese Friendship Garden with good friends.

Where have you visited Japanese gardens? What was your favorite part?

Have you ever tried a mulberry?