Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden

During the second world war Japanese Canadians were removed from the British Columbia coast, dispossessed and sent inland, and many were sent to work the sugar beet fields around Lethbridge. The city and the Japanese Canadian community later built this garden together, opening it in 1966 and formally in 1967 for Canada's centennial, to recognise the contributions of Japanese Canadians and as a symbol of friendship between the two countries; the name combines the Japanese words for Japan and Canada with the word for friendship. Tadashi Kubo and Masami Sugimoto of Osaka Prefecture University designed it. The pavilion, bridges and gates were made in Kyoto of Hinoki cypress without nails, and the five artisans who built them reassembled them here. A bell cast in Kyoto is rung by visitors.

History

In the early 1960s the Reverend Yutetsu Kawamura, a Buddhist minister in Alberta, and Cleo Mowers, editor of the Lethbridge Herald, each thought of a Japanese garden for Lethbridge; the city council approved the plan on 6 January 1964, Tadashi Kubo of Osaka Prefecture University and his assistant Masami Sugimoto designed it from a scheme by his student Ayako Hitomi, and the pavilion, shelter, bridges and gates were made in Kyoto by five artisans who reassembled them here. After 21 months of building it opened on 3 July 1966, and the grand opening, attended by Prince and Princess Takamatsu of Japan, was held on 14 July 1967 during Canada's centennial (Wikipedia, Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden).

The main sights

• The nailed-free pavilion - Hinoki cypress buildings made in Japan and reassembled.
• The Kyoto bell - a cast bell visitors are invited to ring.
• The garden types - dry rock, pond and prairie-adapted planting in one layout.
• The Japanese Canadian story - the wartime relocation and the community the garden honours.

When to go

May to October; the garden closes for winter apart from a December lantern event. Autumn colour in the maples is the strongest season. Tea ceremonies run on a schedule.

Before you go

Closed for most of the winter. The garden is compact and takes about an hour. Prairie climate limits which Japanese species can be grown, so the planting is adapted rather than authentic throughout.

Nearby

The Lethbridge Viaduct lies west; Fort Macleod is northwest.

Key facts