Kouka-en in the snow

For much of the northern hemisphere, seeing snow-covered bonsai in winter is nothing out of the ordinary. For Keiichi Fujikawa, proprietor of the Fujikawa Kouka-en bonsai garden in Osaka, the sight is far from normal.

Snow-covered bonsai at Kouka-en

Shimpaku juniper

When our small tour arrived at Fujikawa’s garden, I asked how many times it snowed like this in a given year. His answer was never!

White pine

Camellia

I wasn’t sure how long we’d want to walk through the snowy garden, but the longer we stayed, the more I appreciated the beauty of snow-covered trees.

Pine

Trident maple

A few of the temperature sensitive bonsai were moved inside when the snow started, but the rest stayed outside on the benches. The snow wasn’t expected to stick around for more than a day.

Snowy bench

Shimpaku juniper

Pine

Every once in a while an apprentice reluctantly went outside and brushed snow off the branches to prevent them from breaking under the weight of the snow. Within minutes, the trees were covered again.

White pine

Pine

Ume flowers

After a day visiting gardens in the snow, our group headed up to Tokyo for the Kokufu exhibit. More on that next week!

News & Updates

[Southern California Event]

• There’s one day left of the Bonsai-A-Thon, one of Southern California’s biggest events of the year! The Bonsai-A-Thon is an annual fundraiser held at the Huntington in San Marino, California.
  
  Headliner Sergio Cuan will share a presentation about deciduous bonsai from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. Additional demonstrations will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. featuring Mel Ikeda, Robert King, Bob Pressler, and Al Rivera.
  
  The weekend will also feature a tour of the bonsai area by Daniel Deephouse at 11:00 a.m.
  
  A number of vendors will be on hand with an assortment of trees, pots, and supplies, plus live and silent auctions means there are lots of opportunities to shop!
  
  Learn more at the 2026 Bonsai-A-Thon website.
  

[Northern California Event]

• The Mammoth Fundraiser will be held on Saturday, March 7th (auction), and Sunday, March 8th (general sale and vendor area). Learn more at the Bonsai Garden Lake Merritt website. More details coming soon!