Yashiro Japanese Garden

Beautiful little garden tucked away in the city. Very lush greens and vegetation. There are a few benches and places to sit. A nice place to take lunch and step away from the city. It’s very quiet and peaceful.

What is so nice about so many towns along Puget Sound is that almost all of them have a Japanese Garden or something very botanical to offer. This Japanese themed park is very tiny, but free! It is kept up pretty well and there are nice features and decorations here to emphasize the theme. As I said before, the park is tiny so a stroll around it doesn’t take long at all so best go here with the intention of a picnic, sitting or meditating because you are on the other side of the park in no time at all!

If I could give this zero stars I would. This place is very unmaintained. Don’t go, unless you have to.

Nice, secluded area but not always well maintained. Koi pond is pretty gross and green currently, nearly impossible to see the fish. But still a quiet spot to clear your mind (if you can ignore the homeless people.)

i never knew of this park/​garden!

This small quaint little garden is tucked behind the Chevron gas station & across from the Olympia Justice Center. I think this would be a very nice place to sit and review your day, reflect on issues that boggle your mind, or sprinkle a little bread crumbs into the very peaceful koi pond and watch the koi glide through the water. The path is not paved ahd circles back around toward the entrances or exits of the garden. You walk through the bamboo and have the option to sit on one of the many benches well placed in this peaceful garden. The koi are very nice and plump and move through the water unlike any other fish I’ve seen. I see why one could gain tranquility and peace just by watching them move. The little fountain that leads into the koi pond is also very peaceful. The park is very small but it’s very nice. A park doesn’t need to be huge to make an impression. I will be back, this garden is just my size and has everything I desire.

I was generally underwhelmed during visits to the Japanese Garden, both in the winter and the summer. It’s a tiny postage stamp on busy Plum Street right beside a gas station. While it seemed to be well-​kept, it was fairly unusable and I don’t recall even seeing a bench on which to sit. There also wasn’t another soul during either of my visits, perhaps a testament to the lack of function of the park. I do appreciate that the city invested in such a park, but it would benefit from an expansion and some more seating areas.

Olympia’s small hidden gem. Nice park for a small stroll or picnic.

Here I was thinking that a crappy vacant lot with some trees was the famed Olympia Japanese Garden. I was off by two blocks!
This small but awesome garden was particularly tranquil when we visited, owing to a gentle snow of cottonwood seeds. Very soothing layout with a few nooks to sit and contemplate the greater meaning of things.
HIghly recommended for Olympians.