Ume Bloom Viewing Saturday, January 24, 2026 | 10am - 1pm Enjoy a cup of hot tea and a Japanese rice cracker while you view the beauty of the Ume blooms. Included with paid garden admission - $5 for adults and $1 for children
VIRTUAL EVENT Japan is a country of museums. There are more than 1,200 art museums yet this fact is often little known outside its borders. They are sprinkled throughout Japan […]
FEBRUARY 2026 BOOK SELECTION The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea by: Hiro Arikawa Thirteen-year-old Noboru is a member of a gang of highly philosophical teenage boys who […]
Explore the art of haiku and nature-inspired poetry while learning traditional Japanese forms. Through guided exercises and observation of the seasonal beauty of Shinzen Garden, attendees will craft their own haiku and short-form poetry.
Unwind beneath the open sky with a deeply restorative Sound Bath set within the tranquil beauty of Shinzen Garden. Surrounded by nature, you’ll be guided through a meditative experience using soothing tones and gentle vibrations designed to calm the mind, relax the body, and restore balance. As the sounds wash over you, stress melts away […]
MARCH 2026 BOOK SELECTION The Setting Sun by: Osamu Dazai Set in the early postwar years, it probes the destructive effects of war and the transition from a feudal Japan […]
APRIL 2026 BOOK SELECTION Ms. Ice Sandwich by: Mieko Kawakami In her English language debut, “ceaselessly growing and evolving”novelist Mieko Kawakami renders an adolsecent voice with laser precision (Haruki […]
MAY 2026 BOOK SELECTION Heaven by: Mieko Kawakami With profound tenderness and sensitivity, Japanese literary superstar Mieko Kawakami turns her unique gaze onto the causes and effects of violence. Raw but revelatory, this novel stands as a dazzling confirmation of Kawakami's standing as one of her country's most insightful and compelling novelists. In Heaven, […]
JUNE 2026 BOOK SELECTION The Guest Cat by: Takashi Hiraide A bestseller in France and winner of Japan's Kiyama Shohei Literary Award, The Guest Cat, by the acclaimed poet Takashi Hiraide, is a subtly moving and exceptionally beautiful novel about the transient nature of life and idiosyncratic but deeply felt ways of living. A […]
JULY 2026 BOOK SELECTION Kitchen by: Banana Yoshimoto With the publication of Kitchen, the dazzling English-language debut that is still her best-loved book, the literary world realized that Yoshimoto […]