Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden — Attraction in Springfield

I will give this rating based on what I saw at the Japanese Fall Festival. From dusk to dark. Upon entering the park, Google told me to take a right when we had gotten to the train tracks, DON'T DO THAT!! The Japanese Garden is at the furthest distance from the entry point into the park. Sadly, we had to park on the grass, sad for the sake of grass in the Ozarks. Entering the garden Mizumoto, there was a Lychee tree. It was nice, but leaves were damaged. Also many hostas, Empress Wu, I believe, were sun scorched. The venue was packed, and there was trash in many places. The paths were packed and people began walking where they chose to. All the bodies of water had dye in them (probably because it is stagnant) and a film on the top, and above this debris. The Japanese lanterns on the water at night were nice, but there were a lot of people and they too were in the pictures we took. I know that people come to festivals, but I grossly underestimated how many in this small area. The silliest thing I saw was a man lighting torches in a packed environment, full of wild n' free children, and people in plastic costumes, you might want to rethink this Botanical Garden Society!! In all, it is a nice meandering path, meant for a stroll and not jam packed, and bridges are a great focal point which are placed throughout, the rocks could be embedded a bit more so that they're not a trip and fall hazard for the elderly or people with disabilities. Lots of the Beautyberry need to be replaced, and many other elongated plants are shriveled up and cling for hope. Came for Japanese Fall Festival, found a nice path, and bridges, left due to the probability of a horrible accident with flames, crowded areas and plastic costumes do not mix...

We stopped at this lovely little garden on our way home from Branson, MO. It's part of a much bigger park that is split up into several, smaller themed parks. This one in particular appealed to us from the pictures online and the good reviews. When we arrived, we learned that there was an admission price though there were several places online that stated it was free. It was only $3/person, so we went ahead and paid. There is also an option to buy coi food for $1/bag, so we grabbed a couple of those as well. Right near the pay booth there is a little area with a couple of trees that are perfect for climbing, and they let you. So my family all climbed up into one of the trees while I remained ground-bound to take pics. After, we went into the actual stroll garden and it was so beautiful. There is so much nature and serenity that one could easily lose a whole day. Because we were on a time schedule, we couldn't really lounge like we wanted to, but we did spend a good amount of time there. My boys and husband skipped rocks on one of the bigger ponds and we all walked the trails and little bridges in order to feed the coi and spot wildlife including chipmunks, turtles and domesticated ducks. We rested in a little gazebo and then...

From what I understand this garden has a sister garden or some kind of counterpart in Japan. That is not super relevant but interesting. I thought so anyway which means most of you won't, I digress. I don't know if it's just a certain personality type or what but to me Japanese gardens are the "Swedish massage with hot rock treatment and aromatherapy" of outdoor activities, the "Maybach backseat with chilled Crystal" of landscaping as it were. I guess what I'm just trying to say is that the Japanese stroll garden is the best and I suddenly realize I'm unexplainably and suddenly in a great state of mind complete with inner peace and contentment. That is, until I have to leave at which time, I revert to equally as unexplainable and sudden wistful sadness because I wish I could just stay there for the rest of my life. Japanese stroll garden is the definition of "opposite of work". You should go, you'd probably like it and those cosplay kids who seem to be in frequent attendance, can get pretty creative with those cool outfits,...