Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center — Attraction in Philadelphia

First, I must say that it is always nice to be able to experience other cultures up close. Especially if it's a place that you know you'll never be able to visit in person. But to be honest, I was a little disappointed. I was really expecting to see a lot more for all the hype on the internet and also for the ticket prices, $15 per adult, and $10 per child and seniors over 65. The house is very nice but pretty much empty, aside from a few items in 3 or 4 of the rooms. One room, which I'm guessing was used to make tea, contained a few items for making tea, but we didn't see any items for serving or drinking the tea in. It also contained a pair of geta's (wooden sandals) and a broom. There was also a pair of modern-day rubber velcro strap sandals tossed in the middle of the exhibit that someone must have left there by accident (I hope). The actual room used to take tea was empty. In another room, there was a kimono (a Japanese robe) and a Koto (Japanese zither/harp) . The bathroom had a wooden, floor toilet, a urinal, and a tub. I really thought the house would be set up with furniture and other Japanese decor/items but it wasn't. The garden was all greenery with absolutely no color anywhere. Our family got all dressed up with the expectation of taking beautiful colorful pictures in the garden but that didnt happen. There were no guides, only one person in the house who only gave information when asked. You can schedule a tour though and a guide will walk through with you and give you the history. It's described as a place of tranquility, but to be honest, it just felt dry and hot. The highlight of our visit was feeding the very friendly and beautiful Koi fish. Actually the fish are the most colorful and fun thing at Shofuso. At the entrance of the house they have a couple of small tables with some souvenirs for sale and they also sell you the fish food so you can feed the Koi fish. Make sure to take your own water/drinks if visiting on a hot day because they don't sell anything to eat or drink there. It is definitely not a good place for baby strollers and it is not at all wheelchair accessible. It's actually not a good place to take small children as there are a lot of places where they can easily fall, which include the pond. There is plenty of street parking available. All in all, I must sadly say, I will not be going back again or recommending it to anyone I know. It's cheaper and easier to just view the Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center pictures online from the comfort...

The garden was beautiful and the house was small but very pretty. The koi were beautiful and fun to feed. Don’t expect a huge garden, just some place cute to take pictures and talk or read. The workers on the other hand, need to work on their “zen”. Being my first time there, I was looking at the stuff they had for sale in the front and went to the side of the house not knowing it was not the entrance. I go to step in the side room and the worker condescendly says “where did you leave your shoes? That’s where you’re suppose to go in at” I apologize and say thank you and get nothing but a snarky smile back, this was a young white woman with short blonde hair. I am a white woman as well so its not about race Im now just describing the worker. As i am done looking through the rooms, I had my shoes off and stepped into the garden which no one explained that I had to put my shoes back on to go into the garden, no signs posted either. This time an older white woman with brown hair comes over and very loudly tells me I need to put my shoes on. Now I’m frustrated as I came here to relax. I start to explain that I wasn’t told the rules and she very rudely cuts me off and says “im sure you were told that at the front” and I began to say “no I was-“ she cuts me off again and is loud and says “WELL ILL TELL YOU THE RULES” and I had to literally ask her to not cut me off as I am speaking cause that was rude. No apology. She just begins to speak loudly again & states the rules, and talks to me like I was purposely being rude when I was nothing but kind even after being talked to like a child. I didn’t appreciate that. I watched her treat multiple people the same way. The rules are not clear & should be posted and if someone breaks them they should met with grace, not rudeness. The only person who had a nice friendly attitude was a young black man named Zack. He’s the only reason I’m giving this place 4 stars instead of 3. He was very nice when I asked him questions and when I went to the counter to get koi food… I understand the need to protect the space but it can be done so in a kind way. I still ended up having a good time sitting and talking with my friend, feeding the koi and taking pictures. But the attitude of the workers is not okay, especially in a place that is suppose to be relaxing and people are spending...

Such a lovely, serene and beautiful place to visit. As it is a small property, take your time to really look at the details in both the rooms and the garden. Lauren, one of the center's historians, had a wealth of knowledge that she shared with us that gave us a better understanding and even more appreciation of what we were seeing. And she was so friendly, too; it was a pleasure speaking with her. We loved our visit.

We went on a Sunday and bought our timed tickets the day before. It was for 11am and it seemed most people had timed tickets, there were a couple people who bought on-site. However, it got busier towards the end of our visit, and as we were leaving it felt more crowded.

There is free parking off to the side of the property.

You will need to remove your shoes and walk in socks when walking in the house and to put your shoes back on for walking in the garden.

There is large Koi in the pond that you can buy a cup of fish food for $2 to feed them.

There are also a variety of items for sale such as tea cups, chopsticks, Japanese cultural books, tshirts and cute lucky cat erasers. You can also buy bottles of water on-site, as it was a hot day when we were visiting, and there is no air conditioning, of course. The house is open and well...