This Sunday we took a trip down to the city of Rockford, IL. The agenda was to visit the Japanese gardens. I have read multiple mentions of this place in many blogs, Instagram posts etc.
Since this is not a long drive (approx 65 miles from Naperville, IL), and doesn't need much planning in any bookings, reservations, night stays, we just drove towards it after breakfast.
The morning was bright and sunny but by the time we started the sky was all overcast. I am still extremely thankful that it didn't rain or spoilt our trip. It is still early autumn here, so the weather wasn't as brutal too, hovering in the lower 50s or higher 40s.
The drive was smooth, although once in Rockford there are like zillions of traffic signals to cross. It also has that old town vibe.
The gardens are on this nice very green sort of patch. It has a decent sized parking although that should give you an idea of what type of crowd it could pull. I would think that you couldn't park more than 200 cars there and that not a lot of parking spots for a big public place.
The Entry fee is $9 for adults and $8 for kids.
They don't allow any food or beverage(except for water) inside the gardens.
Honestly, Not many places in states put such restrictions.
They also have an onsite restaurant, which closed at 3 pm on Sunday afternoon.
the park itself closes by 5 pm. all detail here on the official website
Once inside, there are really not many restrictions and it has been laid out in a beautiful manner, and you can explore it the way your heart pulls. There are few koi ponds and some of the brightest and the most beautiful koi you will see. It's a pleasure.
the variety of Japanese artifacts, tea rooms, a housing complex, and a huge variety of trees and shrubs are laid out beautifully.
There is a lot of wood used for artifacts throughout the park which is commonly seen in the Japanese tradition.
The designers of this garden have used a lot of bamboo artifacts to catch and draw rainwater to create serene corners, deer catchers and other smaller apparatuses which you will appreciate if you pay attention.
Overall we were very pleased with visiting this place, and it was a good 3 hrs of time spent here, on a Sunday afternoon.
Took some pictures at this place and sharing it for your eyes.
Official website: https://andersongardens.org/
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