normandale japanese garden tours

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Japanese Garden

A local treasure.

The Japanese Garden is a one-of-a-kind gem on Normandale’s campus. Exquisite, serene, and picturesque — the Japanese Garden offers visitors a welcome respite from the stresses of everyday life.

Built on land reclaimed from a twenty-acre pond, the garden showcases authentic Japanese features. These include a garden wall and entry gate, a waterfall, two shelters, three islands, three lanterns, four bridges, and a Bentendo — a hexagonal structure common throughout Japan and named for Benten, a goddess of wealth, happiness, wisdom, and music.

A Japanese Garden Created for Minnesota

More than 300 plants, shrubs, and trees have been carefully selected to grow in Minnesota’s harsh climate. The architect, Takao Watanabe, and gardeners chose Minnesota-hardy plants that can survive extremely cold temperatures. Visit the Japanese Garden and experience the beauty all around you. In addition to discovering the wonderful plant life and intentional landscaping, you’ll see around 20 colorful koi that swim from lagoon to pool, under bridges and around rocks. You can feed the fish from May through October by purchasing koi food at the entrance of the Garden for 50 cents (quarters only). Wander through the garden in just a few minutes, or linger longer and take it all in. You will truly feel like you have landed in the heart of Japan when you visit Normandale's Japanese Garden, recently included on the list of the best gardens in the country by Good Plant Care.

Questions, comments or concerns?  Email  [email protected]  or call 952-358-8145.

  Japanese Garden FAQs

Tour Our Beautiful Garden

CBS Finding Minnesota Feature on Normandale's Japanese Garden

Visiting, Tours and Field Trips

The Japanese Garden is easily accessible on the campus of Normandale Community College, located at 9700 France Avenue South in Bloomington, Minnesota. Visitors are welcome year-round, and the Garden is open Spring, Summer and Fall from sunrise to sunset. There is no cost for admittance, but donations are appreciated. We ask that children under 12 are accompanied by an adult. We offer informative group tours for adults, and fun-filled field trips for elementary-aged students. Please call us at 952-358-8145 or email us at [email protected] for more information.

View Our Garden

More information about the Garden

• Tour the Garden

Normandale Community College's Japanese Garden is a treasured campus and community amenity that promotes wellness. The beauty and serenity of the garden make it ideal for contemplation and renewal of the spirit.

The garden is open year-round at no charge, except when reserved for special events. We ask that children under 12 not visit the garden without supervision. A self-guided tour brochure is available inside the square shelter located in the garden. If you are not able to visit the garden, our online tour describes the landscaping and architectural features.

The Garden is maintained jointly by the College and the Japanese Garden Committee. The Normandale Community College Foundation acts as the fiduciary agent. This partnership ensures the future of the garden through maintenance, memberships, special gifts, and donations.

The Japanese Garden is a 2 acre oasis of beauty and serenity.

See how it began...

Normandale Community College's Japanese Garden was built by the Bloomington Affiliated Garden Clubs. Plans for the garden began in 1967 when the college campus was still being developed. The garden clubs raised the funds to build the garden while the college donated two acres of land, including a portion of Green Heron Pond.

From the groundbreaking ceremony in 1972 to the dedication ceremony in 1976, many individuals and companies donated money, time, and materials to construct the garden.

Step by step, the swampy area behind Normandale Community College was transformed into a beautiful Japanese Garden. A photographic history tells the complete story below, including the original hand-drawn blueprints by chief architect Takao Watanabe, a professional garden architect from Tokyo, Japan, who was critical to the success of the project.

More than 300 plants, shrubs, and trees have been placed in the Normandale Community College Japanese Garden. Because of climate differences, they are not plants that would be used in gardens in Japan. The architect and gardeners chose Minnesota-hardy plants that can survive extremely cold winters.

The Garden does, however, exemplify the restrained use of flowering plants that is traditional in Japan. Variations in tones and textures of green predominate, and woody plant materials are trimmed or pruned to specific aesthetic goals. The paths have been tarred to make the garden more accessible.

The Japanese Garden is easily accessible on the campus of Normandale Community College, located at 9700 France Avenue South in Bloomington, Minnesota.

• View our tour options
• View the educational standards that are met through our guided tours
• View the field trip gift options that may be purchased
• View the tour gift options that may be purchased

The Garden is open Spring, Summer and Fall from sunrise to sunset.

Get Directions here!

Get Involved!

We need your help to maintain Normandale's Japanese Garden

If you are interested in becoming a Friend of the Japanese Garden, please contact us using the information listed below.

[email protected]

952-358-8145

Photographers who are planning to take photos in the Garden that they intend to sell, or that are part of a paid photo session, must purchase a photo permit. No commercial videography is allowed. Please note: the Garden does not accept reservations and cannot be closed to the general public. Should you purchase a photo permit, expect to work around the public. A daily, one-time per-calendar-day use, photography permit is $30.00. These are valid one week from their purchase date. Annual permits are rated at $150.00. Those permits are valid for one year from their purchase date. To read our photography policy, and/or to apply for a photo permit, please use this form . Once you have completed the form and submitted your payment, your confirmation email will serve as your permit.

Support the Garden!

Your financial support is greatly appreciated!

Give today!

9700 France Avenue South in Bloomington, Minnesota

Hours: M-F 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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Normandale Japanese Garden

What’s there to like? The garden boasts more than 300 plants, shrubs, and trees, along with koi fish that you can feed, a waterfall, several bridges, and more. Designed by architect Takao Watanabe, it’s impressive, especially when you consider that all these plants are chosen to survive our harsh Minnesota winters. It’s a perfect blend of human and natural beauty.

This is a small (hockey-rink-sized) nice little garden in a pleasant place with plenty of free parking. If you’ve never been to a Japanese Garden it will be exotic and interesting. Many of the trees are carefully pruned, the layout is nice. Shady and quiet. It’s a good place for a short walk.

If you have been to another more traditional Japanese Garden this experience will feel disappointing. It is small, the water is murky, the plants are limited, certain features are not present. This is more Japanese Garden-esque. But give credit for the attempt. It is still a nice natural space and has potential to develop and enhance as years go by.

The Normandale Japanese Garden in Bloomington, MN is a tranquil, 2-acre oasis featuring traditional Japanese landscaping, koi ponds, and serene walking paths. Open year-round, the garden offers a peaceful escape for visitors seeking relaxation and cultural enrichment. Located on the Normandale Community College campus, it’s a destination for nature lovers and photographers in the Twin Cities area.

 9700 France Ave S, Bloomington, MN 55431-4309

 952-358-8145

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My Northern Garden

June 29, 2020 · 2 Comments

Normandale Japanese Garden Tour

Why We Garden

Most (maybe all) master gardener and garden club garden tours have been cancelled this summer due to COVID-19. Understandable, but still a bummer for those of us who can’t think of a better summer activity than exploring a garden. So, I decided to create my own garden tour in 2020, visiting public gardens within a short drive of my home each week during the usual garden tour season. I started it off over the weekend with a visit to the Normandale Japanese Garden at Normandale Community College in Bloomington.

I’ve thought about visiting this garden, designed by architect Takao Watanabe, many times but only made the trip this past weekend. The garden is free and open to the public, easy to get around and clearly popular. Even early on a Saturday morning, a few other groups strolled the garden as I did.

The Normandale Japanese garden is tucked away between the main campus buildings and a marshy lake. Creating the garden as part of the college was a project begun by Bloomington Affiliated Garden Clubs more than 50 years ago, and the garden was opened in 1976. Like most Japanese gardens, the planting style is restrained. Some flowering shrubs punctuate the seasons, but most of the interest is achieved through foliage texture, reflections on water, stones and variations of the color green.

A Gift and Islands

You enter the garden through a wooden gate, and to your left is a small shelter with information about the garden, its design and its history. To the right, the garden stretches out before you, with its pond, islands and a lovely Bentendo. The Bentendo is a hexagon-shaped building that was given to the garden along with a bridge to it by a group of Japanese-American veterans who worked in the Twin Cities as translators for the United States military during World War II. Their service and the kind treatment they received in the Twin Cities is commemorated with a plaque.

There are many options for walking around the garden. I took the full loop around to begin with, admiring the way the plants reflected off the water in the bright morning sun. A waterfall and stream added a pleasant sound, and the garden is clearly a favorite spot for birds. I spotted a couple of red-wing blackbirds, noisily asserting their territory, but the chirp sounds made it clear there were other birds nearby. A duck stepped onto a rock on the edge of the pond for a quick bath.

The main pond of the garden has three islands: the Bentendo island, Crane Island and Turtle Island. Each is small, ringed with stones and planted with shrubs. A long bridge cuts across the pond and its bright red railings along with other red accents on structures adds color to the garden.

A Place to Think

Normandale Japanese garden also offers several spots to rest your eyes, your body and your mind. The garden features five traditional lantern sculptures, several of which are made of granite. While I enjoyed the garden tremendously in midsummer, I can image the rocks, lanterns and the architecture of the trees would be striking in winter as well.

The shelter and strategically placed benches offer places to sit and contemplate the view. The Zig-Zag Bridge as it is called encourages mindfulness. The garden’s structure also provides many different ways to view the garden, including through a window in the shelter near the gate.

The paths around the garden are easy to walk—the garden is very accessible to wheelchairs or those who need more time to get around. It’s not large either. I was able to walk around twice, stop for photos, and sit a bit in less than an hour. Parking is a short, pleasant walk from the garden entry.

Next time you are looking for a garden to visit for a some contemplation and rest, consider visiting the Normandale Japanese garden.

Suggestions, please!

I’ve visited many public gardens in Minnesota, including the lovely Duluth Rose Garden as well as several wonderful Japanese gardens , but I would love to hear your suggestions of little-known gardens worth a visit. Thank you!

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August 7, 2023 at 5:57 am

Hi Mary, I love your garden! I have written a book on Japanese garden design ideas to try and increase peoples interest and knowledge of Japanese gardens.

Here is a free copy for you: https://www.dropbox.com/s/x6p1yqxbhfoqdwg/eBook4%20-%20Copy.pdf?dl=0

It is available in Kindle on amazon and direct from myself at http://Payhip.com/NigelSpaven

Feel free to inform your customers about the book. I have a small number of paperback books also available at £9.95 if anyone is interested.

Kind regards Nigel

[…] part of my summer pledge to visit more public gardens around the Twin Cities and beyond, I drove over to the western suburb […]

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