See Hanami at the Japanese Garden in Bad Langensalza, Germany

If seeing the famous Japanese cherry blossom is on your bucketlist (here’s a guide I wrote) but you’re in Germany, fear not. There’s an authentic Japanese Garden in Bad Langensalza, Germany. It was a huge project to capture and recreate the traditional Japanese style and a major magnet especially for its three Japanese festivals. Read on to find out more.

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Where is the Japanese Garden & how do I get there?

By car, it takes 85 minutes from Jena, 40 minutes from Erfurt and one hour from Weimar.

In case you’re doing a day trip from Leipzig, you can reach the Japanese Garden within 2 hours via the autobahn A38 and A71.

Maybe you want to visit the Chinese Garden in Thuringia as well? It’s a 40 minute drive by car (no public transport). Leuchtenburg Castle is a 65 minute drive away.

Need a car? Compare prices of the big 8 car rental firms. They have great choices and quality cars from £15/day. Book Now*. (You can even arrange different pickup and dropoff locations in Germany as well. This way you’re super flexible.)

Train tips

If you want to travel by public transport, catch a regional train to Bad Langensalza.

Should you stay in nearby Thuringian cities like Erfurt (see the interactive map), opt for the “Hopper-Ticket Thüringen“.

It’s available at train station machines only (not online). You can find it after clicking the button “VMT ticket“ on the start screen. A one way ride costs 5.60 EUR and a return ticket is 9.10 EUR. The ticket can be bought in advance. When you want to use it, validate it at a green ticket machine on the train platform.

For more tips on travelling Germany, check out my guides on bus travel and train travel.

How much is the entrance fee?

If you only want to visit Bad Langensalza’s Japanese Garden, the entrance fee for an adult is 5 EUR (as of 2022). The concession price is 4 EUR. Children up to 12 years old can enjoy free entry.

If you are staying in town for multiple days or really want to pack your day full of sights, you can get a combo for all gardens as well as the pharmacy museum for 15 EUR. (12 EUR is for concession.)

Tickets can be had a the garden entrance or the tourist information.

Be aware that during festivals and cherry blossom season, the Japanese Garden Bad Langensalza will be super popular and you might not get in if you come during the weekend.

Here are the contact details for the tourism information:

Touristinformation Bad Langensalza
Bei der Marktkirche 11
99947 Bad Langensalza
Telephone: +49 (0) 3603 – 834424
touristinfo(at)badlangensalza.de

How do I pronounce Bad Langensalza?

Somewhat similar to the German word Bad is bud. The first syllable of the next word sounds like lung, add en (like in endeavor) and say salsa.

Why is there a Japanese Garden?

Bad Langensalza is also known as the Town of Roses thanks to its wonderful gardens. Just before the turn of the century, ideas were brainstormed on how to create a new charming addition to entertain the many visitors flocking for a relaxing wellness experience. After all, nature plays a big part in that.

When local garden architect Dipl. Ing. Silke Hasskerl-Schilling suggested pairing her thesis on Japanese gardenscaping with real life creation, the project was given the green light and completed in 2002.

When should you visit?

There are not many Japanese gardens in Germany, but this one is special due to its scenic location in the charming town of Bad Langensalza and its Japanese festivals.

Each year, you can celebrate three major Japanese festivals here, which are:

• April: HANAMI (cherry blossom festival)
• June: KOMOMO NO HI (kids festival)
• July: TANABATA (festival of the stars)

The most popular is hanami, which celebrates the pink cherry blossom pedals. It gets crazy crowded during the weekend festival, so make sure to arrive early. It’s fun for the entire family and little ones can take part in handcraft activities.

As part of the events, you can witness Japanese martial arts, drumming, origami making and sample sushi.

What is special about the Japanese Garden?

The garden was named Kōfuku no niwa, which means Garden of Happiness. Everything in it centers around the concept of balance and fluidity.

Look close and find typical Japanese elements like round ponds, trickling streams, bonsai, swaying cherry trees, azalea bushes and a zen garden. There’s a meaning behind every detail.

(The little Buddha statue is the only thing that is a bit out of place. But it was a special price that the city won in a city competition and it works quite well here.)

Within the garden are smaller gardens inviting contemplation, such as the bamboo grove. In the northern part, there’s the dry garden with raked grit and pebbles. The bigger islands in the middle represent the heron and turtle, which are said to bring luck.

Cross the zigzag path (八橋, yatsubashi) over the pond and you get to leave evil spirits behind. To really settle into the calm, take a seat at the tea pavilion. Here, you can enjoy freshly brewed Japanese tea.

There’s the option to join an official tea ceremony lead by Ueda Sôko tea masters Dietrich and Jana Roloff. It lasts 90 to 120 minutes and costs 22 EUR (with spa card: 20 EUR). Inquire at the tourist information regarding upcoming tea ceremony dates as they don’t happen regularly.

Essential Information

• Address: Kurpromenade, 99947 Bad Langensalza
• Garden opening times: 10AM to 6PM (Mar & Oct), 10AM to 7PM (April to Sep), closed Nov to Feb
• Tea pavilion opening times: 1PM to 4PM (March), 1PM to 5PM (April to Oct)
• Telephone: +49 (0) 3603 834424
• Website
• Wheelchair accessible
• No dogs allowed (except assistance dogs)

What else is there to see?

There are quite a lot of things to see in Bad Langensalza. It’s a popular spa town (Bad means “spa“ in German) and as such you can enjoy healing pools and wellness activities.

Next to the Japanese Garden, Bad Langensalza has many other parks to offer. Outside the Japanese Garden and along the historic city walls you can follow the spa garden and step into the Natur!Garten (nature garden), which shows you local flora.

Then there’s the Rose Garden with 450 roses, the magnolia garden with 33 magnolia types, the Apothecary Garden of the Thuringian Pharmacy Museum, the tree garden Arboretum with 130 tree varieties and the castle garden from the 17th century.

Furthermore, you can soak up the sun at TRACO-Park, where you can explore different ways of gardenscaping techniques and examples.

Need more inspiration? Check out these Germany travel tips

• Did you know you can throw porcelain down a castle wall at Leuchtenburg?
• Fun fact: there are three Lobdeburg castles in Jena
• Things to do in Jena for every month of the year
• What day trips to plan around Dresden
• Visiting 3 castles in one scenic spot: Dornburg