Japanese Friendship Garden

Japanese Friendship Garden

Ro Ho En - An Authentic Japanese Garden


“Ro Ho En” is an authentic Japanese style garden landscaped in the heart of Phoenix, AZ, in complete cooperation between the city of Phoenix and its sister city in Japan, Himeji.

This Japanese friendship garden came into existence through the cooperation of Arizona volunteers and many technicians from Himeji, as well as through countless mutual visits across the Pacific by representatives from both cities beginning in 1987. Within the garden there is a crystal-clear stream, a promenade, a pond where Koi swim, and a large waterfall. There is also a beautiful tearoom, where you can host a tea ceremony.

The name “Ro Ho En” is both the city bird of Himeji, and a joining of the character “Sagi” used in “Shirasagijo”, pseudonym for Himeji Castle, and a Japanese translation of the word “Phoenix”(“Otori”). In accordance with that name, this garden is a symbol of the friendship between Phoenix and Himeji, as well as a broader symbol of the friendship between America and Japan.

The name of the Japanese garden is Ro Ho En, and it is also called the “Japanese Friendship Garden”. This garden was made by Himeji city. Japanese flora, which are not well-suited to the climate of Arizona, are not planted in the garden.

Phoenix’s sister city Himeji’s cultural exchange team visited Phoenix in 1987, and it was on that occasion that the proposal was made to build a Japanese friendship garden in downtown Phoenix. The following year, the cultural exchange team, acting as a representative for Himeji’s mayor, Totani, submitted detailed blueprints of the proposed garden. Phoenix, for its part, received the proposal with open arms, and that same year, through an election on the city’s cultural public bonds, approved the allotment of a subsidiary payment toward the garden of $2.1 million.

In 1989, representatives from Phoenix visited Himeji and inspected the Japanese gardens there. Then, in the following year, 1990, a landscaping technician from Himeji came to Phoenix, and submitted a plan for the garden. In 1991, a monument, roof tiles, and garden lantern worth $50,000 were sent from Himeji. That same year, the Japanese Friendship Garden Committee was formed. A year later, a model garden was completed, and on April 25th, the Margaret T Hance Park, which would later be the location of the garden, was completed and opened. In 1992, campaigns for donations and contributions from the public ($1 million) were initiated. In 1996, the tearoom was finished.