One of the most tranquil and beautiful spots that you can visit in Mishawaka, Indiana, is the Shiojiri Park. This elegant Japanese Garden is located at 450 N. Niles Ave, and you can find street parking fairly close to it. The park symbolizes the sister-city relationship between Shiojiri City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan and Mishawaka. This relationship is built on a friendship that began as a pen pal program set up in schools in the 1960s.  Recently, in 2022, a 5o year Golden Anniversary was celebrated between these two regions, which is truly amazing!

Several months ago, my family and I were visiting Mishawaka, Indiana to celebrate and catch up after many years. It was really sweet to be able to connect with everyone, and they also provided us a list of interesting spots that we should visit while we were in the area. The first place that we checked out was the Mishawaka Riverwalk (linked below.) This is also an excellent spot to take in beautiful views of the St. Joseph River. After the seeing Riverwalk, we were quite intrigued to visit the Japanese Gardens.

https://northeastallie.com/2023/09/06/mishawaka-riverwalk-indiana/

We really lucked out on our visit, and somehow we had the park to ourselves, which just added to the peaceful feeling of it! You truly do feel the purpose of the garden when you are there which is “to present natural forms that lead the visitor from everyday life to a calm, serene, reflective communion with nature.” Before visiting, I did not realize this, but the bridges are meant to symbolize the link between this world and paradise. Within the Japanese Gardens, bridges are always made out of natural materials such as stone or wood.

There is also a lovely teahouse in the garden, and in addition to being a wonderful spot to enjoy tea, it provides an environment for reflective thoughts and appreciation.

This unique location can also be utilized as a wedding venue, and they do provide rental applications if you are interested in doing that. I can see how this would be an amazing place for large events with the elegant beauty that this Japanese Garden immerses you in!

https://mishawaka.in.gov/things-to-do/parks-and-recreation/parks/

I highly recommend a visit to the Shiojiri Park in Mishawaka, and it is such an amazing spot to visit if you are looking for a relaxing travel activity. As a side note, Mishawaka is really close to the city of South Bend, Indiana. You can expect about a 15 minute drive between them, which is really close if you are visiting!

I hope that you are having a wonderful day, and remember to click the like and subscribe button!

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I recently posted a video of the Mishawaka Riverwalk on my channel, so make sure that you check that out too!