Cowra Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre

[2] The rocky hillside, manicured hedges, waterfalls, streams, and lakes provide a serene environment for a variety of aquatic birds.

Special features of the garden include a Bonshō (bell), a traditional Edo cottage, an authentic open air tea housethat also sells Japanese delicacies and sweets, and a Bonsai house.

In 1960 the Japanese Government decided to bring all their war dead from other parts of Australia to be re-buried at Cowra, which already featured a cemetery for the remains of 231 Japanese soldiers killed during the 1944 Cowra breakout from the nearby prisoner of war camp.

In 1971 Cowra Tourism Development decided to celebrate this link to Japan, and proposed a Japanese garden for the town.

[4] An annual Sakura Matsuri (cherry blossom festival) is held in the gardens during September and celebrates the arrival of spring.