Japanese Garden

The Japanese Garden is a 3000 square meter green space located behind the Juan Manuel Blanes Museum with carefully laid stone paths and wooden bridges. The site includes a pond with koi fish, a waterfall stream, a tea house, and typical Japanese and Asian plant species.

The garden opened on September 24, 2001, created as part of a cultural exchange commemorating 80 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Uruguay. Its design came from Japanese landscape architect Haruho Ieda.

The garden displays traditional Japanese design principles where water and mountains hold central importance. Visitors see this philosophy directly in the carefully placed stones, bridges, and pond with koi surrounded by Asian plants.

The garden sits directly behind the Juan Manuel Blanes Museum in the Prado neighborhood and is freely accessible Tuesday through Sunday. Good footwear helps when walking the stone paths, and the location is easy to reach if you are already visiting the museum.

A wooden plaque with calligraphy by former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi hangs in the garden bearing the inscription 'Heisei-en'. The name references Emperor Akihito's era and connects the garden to a specific moment in Japanese history.