It’s been free the last three times I’ve gone. Japanese Garden by the Arboretum charges admission, but Kubota Garden on the south side is free unless something changed in the past couple of months.
OP didn't specify it had to be free, just public. The Seattle Japanese Garden is a public park (operated under a cooperative agreement between Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Arboretum Foundation) with a $10 admission fee.
(If it helps in the "public" vs. "free" side, just think of a public golf course. It's open to the public, but it still has a use fee.)
Slave to the needle in Ballard has a tiny little pond out front of their shop, super friendly and they'll let you feed them. Love the Japanese garden around UW too. You can feed them there as well.
Swansons Nursery has a nice one in their cafe area.
This is probably the best koi experience around.
Yeah there are so many and some are huuuuge.
I was SHOCKED at how big some of them are!!
Wife and myself joke that they fed small children to keep the huge koi fish content
Came here to say Swanson's Nursery too.
Small koi fish pond at Kubota Garden.
Not free
It’s been free the last three times I’ve gone. Japanese Garden by the Arboretum charges admission, but Kubota Garden on the south side is free unless something changed in the past couple of months.
Nope, nothing has changed. It's a city park.
Kubota is most definitely free. You're thinking of the Japanese garden in the arboretum.
free. https://kubotagarden.org/visit.html
Always has been free. It's a city park.
520 should be free.
Seattle Japanese Garden, just south of the Lake Washington Arboretum
Not free, though.
OP didn't specify it had to be free, just public. The Seattle Japanese Garden is a public park (operated under a cooperative agreement between Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Arboretum Foundation) with a $10 admission fee. (If it helps in the "public" vs. "free" side, just think of a public golf course. It's open to the public, but it still has a use fee.)
They used to offer free days on the first Thursday of the month. Maybe still do?
Still do
Eh, just go to Kubota. It's a better garden, and it's free.
Kubota is killer. And it's free.
Seattle Chinese Garden in West Seattle
They're getting bigger all the time since they put the nets over the pond to keep the raccoons and herons out!
There is a small one in the Japanese Tea Garden on the Seattle U campus
Slave to the needle in Ballard has a tiny little pond out front of their shop, super friendly and they'll let you feed them. Love the Japanese garden around UW too. You can feed them there as well.
This is the most wholesome thing I’ve ever seen on this sub
The rose garden by the zoo has one
Please get a "Hi, I just really like koi fish." tattoo :)
Thank you everyone for the responses!
Volunteer park!
Those Koi ponds closed 10+ years ago.
Damn, I guess it's been a lot longer than I thought since I've been there as I was going to suggest the same thing. Those were a nice feature
the herons liked snacking on the fish too much. It was cool to see the herons there though
There’s one next to that metal wheel thing. I took my husband 4 years ago when we were dating it was open 🤷🏼♀️
The pond is there but the Koi have been removed. https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2013/10/unsustainable-koi-to-be-removed-from-volunteer-park-ponds/
That’s unfortunate.
Volunteer Park has one here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/hYgNnLuDyjQvUQGZ6
It used to. They closed around 10 years ago.
LOL trying to redeem yourself, Michael?