The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

Six gardens, set along a path that wanders for nearly a mile, cover 16 acres and constitute one of the largest Japanese gardens outside Japan.The gardens represent the six historicalperiods in the development of Japanese gardens, from the eighth century to the 20th century. The path, which starts right behind the museum, moves through large wooden doors and footpaths past gardens of bamboo, stone and water. Koi the size of bass congregate, hoping for some of the food pellets visitors can buy for a quarter from a gum-ball machine. A meditation garden features gravel raked into long rows or concentric circles like currents in a pond. There's a monument to George Morikami, who died at 89 in 1976and had donated to Palm Beach County nearly200 acres that became the gardens named for him. Another marker honors Ellison Onizuka, the first Asian in space, and his fellow crew members killed in the Challenger disaster. Find a restaurant nearby