2022 Fall Festival at the Botanic Gardens

What is something that immediately comes to mind when you think about Japan?

Maybe you think about the futuristic nightscape of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Maybe you think about Japanese shrines and the graceful angles of their architecture. Maybe you think about anything and everything from food and a rich history of tradition to the country’s unique storytelling and anime.

While we may not be able to recreate Tokyo nightlife, the Fort Worth Japanese Society partners with the Fort Worth Botanic Garden twice a year to host a festival that aims to get visitors as close as possible to feeling like they are actually in Japan.

Over the past several years, the U.S. has experienced a veritable explosion in the popularity of anything related to Japan. Ramen shops and sushi restaurants, which used to be somewhat rare, become more and more common every month. Daiso now has over 80 locations throughout the nation, 8 of them being right here in Texas. Festivals, such as the Otuskimi Festivals held in September, gain more and more visitors every year.

So what makes the festivals at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden special?

To put it simply, these festivals seek to combine all these elements of Japan that Americans have come to love into one immersive experience that can transport you across the globe.

The Japanese section of the Botanic Gardens is 7.5 acres of Japanese maple and cherry trees built around a winding path carrying visitors around koi fish ponds.

Visitors to the Fall (and Spring) Festivals don’t just enjoy one aspect of Japan, but many all at once.

Of course, there is amazing food to be enjoyed, both cooked specially by the FWJS and from food truck vendors that come to the event. Traditional musical and martial art performances are scheduled throughout the weekend. There is a chance to dress up in beautiful kimonos and to participate in a tea ceremony. Children’s games and storytelling performances told in both Japanese and English encourage whole families to get a taste of another culture. Vendors from across the metroplex come to sell everything from cultural crafts to live bonsai trees.

Come spend a day (or two!) with us this November and enjoy one of the brightest spots of Japanese culture that Dallas-Fort Worth has to offer.

Event Information

When: November 5th & 6th, 2022 - 9am - 5pm

Where: The Japanese Garden (Fort Worth Botanic Gardens)

Registration for this event has closed and will open again in Spring 2023.