Japan House, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — Attraction in Urbana

The garden looks very beautiful and peaceful. It is free to see the garden and I would give it 5 stars. However, I would never recommend their tea ceremonies. Although we had to pay $17 for the student tickets, which I would happily pay to attend a good tea ceremony, they were not even wearing traditional clothing such as kimono, which is a minimum expectation from this cultural event. Also, the host did not seem to be nice to everyone (at least to us) and did not have a welcoming attitude. They seemed to be in a rush to finish the show as well. I would expect a much better effort from people presenting the culture of a country, especially a country like Japan with such a...

Today, I went to the Japan House and it was very beautiful and peaceful! My favorite part about it was the cherry blossoms and the pond. There were some animals around too, like geese, bumblebees, and other birds. The pond had koi fish and a small turtle, and the bridge was a nice viewing area. The nature and overall scenery was very pleasant and relaxing. I love the soft gentle breeze and the tranquility of spring. I definitely will be coming back to this place in the near future. I want to send photos I took, on this review, but I don't know how unfortunately. This place is very calm and relaxing to just sit underneath the sakura...

Review written 12/28/2024. It’s like a slice of heaven. Absolutely beautiful area to walk. Strikingly gorgeous. Feels like walking out of central Illinois into Japan.

Lots of birds singing in the trees, very well kept trees and landscaping.

Pretty sculptures.

A downside of this area is there’s no portapotty or bathroom in sight so if you need to use the restroom, plan accordingly. Another downside is that sometimes you can smell the nearby farm animals manure in the air when walking here.

But overall this is a beautiful and...