Tesla Model 3 Maiden Voyage - The Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden

Do you ever find someplace new and feel like you’ve discovered another world? Like all of a sudden the materialistic stresses and political struggles have disappeared? That’s how I felt the moment I walked into the Morakami Museum and Japanese Garden.

First, let’s start with a little bit of history. In 1903, Jo Sakai came from Japan as a recent NYU Graduate. In an effort to help his countrymen emigrate to the USA, he signed an agreement with the Florida East Coast Railway to locate a colony of Japanese farmers in the Boca Raton area. At first, he was only able to find young single farmers, but as their Pineapple Farm grew, the farmers found wives (both locally and on visits back to Japan) and families started to grow. Many of the farmers were doing so well in the 1920’s that they started to move other places in search of the American Dream. By the beginning of World War II, few Japanese remained.

In the mid 1970s, one of the last remaining settlers, George Sukeji Morikami, by then 80 years old, donated his land to Palm Beach County with the wish for it to become a park to preserve the memory of the Yamato Colony. With that request, a living monument was created, building a bridge of cultural understanding between George Morikami’s two homelands.

This place is absolutely amazing. I can’t even describe the serenity and aura of peace the encompasses the entire place. It takes about two hours to explore the entire garden and museum.

The garden matches the local ecosystem of swamp plants and animals. Aquatic birds grace the ponds, while coy fish swim freely. Song birds fill the air with their happy tune, and flowers surround you everywhere.

Two of the cooler gardens consist of a Zen Garden and a Bonsai Garden. Both offer amazing opportunities to meditate or find a little bit of peace for yourself.