John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden — Attraction in Town of Oyster Bay

I have to agree 100% with the review of Anita Kusick and her assessment of the anonymous "Google User" who deemed this wonderful example of the tranquility and beauty of Japanese culture only worthy of one star. The vulgar content of his/her review obviously reflects his low-brow mentality and, consequently, makes it quite easy to assess what happened on the day his and his brood visited this garden. Clearly, they mistook the Japanese Stroll Garden for the corner Chuck E. Cheese and allowed his ill-mannered brats to run amok throughout the place. I've met the gardener many times and found her to be a kind, sweet, and informative person...certainly not a "hag" or "rude" in any way. However, when someone of a lower IQ is confronted by a person attempting to exhibit a perfectly reasonable attitude - in this case, a request to not have their rotten children run around screaming and climbing on the carefully landscaped property that other people are trying to enjoy and contemplate - they interpret that as rude and, exhibiting the narcissism and unwarranted delusions of grandeur that social media and reality TV have ingrained in people of their ilk, they go off in a huff because they're not welcome to smoke and eat Subway meatball heroes while their kids carry on like crazed animals and exercise the only means of "empowerment" available to them...writing nasty reviews on Google.

Anyway, John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden is an oasis and something that everyone should experience. Once stepping onto the grounds, it's almost hard to believe that you're still on Long Island; instead, you feel as if you've been transported to ancient Japan. I'd advise anyone and everyone to flock to this wonderful place and experience it for yourselves...provided their unfortunate funding woes don't result it it's closure. If such a thing happens, Long Island will have lost...

The John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden is a relaxing, meditative space. The foliage, focal point rocks, and tea house make visiting this garden at least once in your life so worthwhile. The garden is guided by a circular path, which takes no more than 20 (ish) minutes to talk. Although brief, it was fun to experience a Japanese garden in the middle of Long Island. Visiting during the summer, I loved the dense foliage of the trees which made me feel like I was in another world.

My favorite part of the garden was this bench area tucked away in the corner of the garden with leaves growing on top of it. I highly recommend stopping by to check this out, it's a great space for contemplation and meditation.

Overall, in visiting this garden I could tell that it was curated with a lot of care. It's a hidden gem!

Some reminders: This garden is donation based; you do not need advanced tickets. There are no restrooms on the premise. I recommend wearing closed toed shoes since the path is made up of large rocks and forest ground. I visited earlier in the afternoon, around 12:30 pm on a Saturday, and was able to find parking inside of the main...

This place is truly a hidden gem on Long Island. Not meant to experience the increase in crowds they have gotten as of lately, but regardless, still a beautiful place if you get a good, respectful crowd. I love this place so much that I decided to get married here.

The gardens, while small, do lead up to a much larger area (do not park at the Japanese garden if you plan to stay long). On Saturdays, they have a musician that plays traditional music that adds to the strolling nature of the park.

It is important to note that this is a STROLL garden - treat it for what it is and you will have an incredible time. Respect the garden, and its rules so that it can remain a beautiful space for all to enjoy.

If you're interested in professional photography, get the permit. Don't picnic, don't set up tripods; do everything the proper way so that places like this don't get ruined.

Shout out to the incredible staff who have helped me from the moment I set foot on the grounds, our wedding, and for always welcoming us back with open arms whenever we come...