Kaiserslautern: Visiting the Japanischer Garten

Japanischer Garten
Am Abendsberg 1
Kaiserslautern
http://www.japanischergarten.de

Thanks to the sponsorship of my utility company, SWK, I was able to buy an annual pass to two of Kaiserslautern's city gardens for only 25 euros: the Gartenschau and the Japanischer Garten (Japanese Garden). This is a nice bonus to paying utilities, one could suppose.

I had already visited the Gartenschau so today I decided to take a walk in the lovely and long-absent sunlight to visit the Japanischer Garten, which is a short walk from my house. I had read that the garden is somewhat small, so I knew what to expect when I arrived.

Once I entered the gardens, it was even more obvious how long and drab this winter has been; the only vibrant color currently in the garden were the brightly colored koi in the pond. To be fair, it is not the park's fault that winter has been so long and I will visit again in the future to see the updates as spring unfolds itself. At this time, everything is so drab, and that's everywhere.

I strolled along the garden, stopping to sit on a bench and listen to the birds chirp, and the traffic whiz by. The garden is on a small plateau above a busy street leading in and out of town, the Lauter Strasse. The garden is reasonably peaceful but there is always the background noise of the street. Even with stopping to sit and listen to the birds, my visit lasted about half an hour. I walked by the tea house/concession stand and noted that the prices are very reasonable there, from about one euro for a cup of tea. I might stop by some evening after work for a stroll and a cup of tea.

It was a pleasant visit and I look forward to seeing the garden again when the trees are budding after waking from the long winter. Would I recommend a visit to tourists? Well, considering the Kaiserslautern doesn't have that many tourist attractions, I might say that it would be okay to spend some time here, but it wouldn't be a must-see. Tickets are 5.50 euros, which isn't especially inexpensive and the garden is smaller. Perhaps when I see the garden in full bloom, I might change my mind.

HUGE koi in the pond.

See how drab everything is? Spring, please arrive!

Buddha and his fake flower.