While there are many things to love about EPCOT and all of the park’s festivals, one of the BEST aspects of these months-long events is the opportunity to learn something new about each of the different cultures represented in the 11 World Showcase pavilions.
Japan Pavilion
Throughout the International Flower and Garden Festival, the countries showcased at EPCOT receive a little extra TLC when it comes to landscaping and the small gardens you’ll see throughout each pavilion. After all, it’s called the Flower and Garden Festival for a reason! Well, we learned something new about a garden that’s on display in the Japan Pavilion, and it draws inspiration from a couple other Disney World icons. This might seem like SUPER random information to know, but if you care as much about it as we do, we totally need to be friends. Ready to check it out? Let’s go!
Disney shared a video on TikTok that showcased a garden in the Japan Pavilion at EPCOT. (There are little gardens like this one all throughout World Showcase during the Flower & Garden Festival, like a rainforest garden in Mexico and a tea garden in the UK pavilion.)
The garden features the Japanese shishi-odoshi, which directly translates to “scare deer.”
@disneyparks Fun fact: the bamboo in this shishi-odoshi was actually harvested from Animal Kingdom and the Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom! 🍃 #Disney #DisneyParks #DisneyWorld #EPCOT #WorldShowcase #FlowerandGardenFestival
In Japanese cultures, these “clicking” devices were used to (you guessed it) scare deer and other herbivores away from the gardens to prevent losing crops. Neat, huh?
©Disney
Well, at EPCOT, no crops are being grown in this garden to feed the masses, so the shishi-odoshi is being used to create a musical garden instead. Drums, bells, and chimes were added by EPCOT’s horticulture team to enhance the sounds. Listen to the sounds it makes in the video above. Isn’t it relaxing?
All the bells and whistles!
The coolest part about this musical garden is that the materials were sourced from other locations around Disney World. Specifically, the bamboo was sourced from Disney’s Animal Kingdom as well as the areas surrounding Jungle Cruise in Magic Kingdom. That makes the whole thing even more special, huh? Maybe the plants you saw the last time you rode Jungle Cruise are busy making music in EPCOT right now!
Jungle Cruise
We love learning about little snippets of culture while also learning some new things about Disney Park operations. When we learn new things, we always make sure to share the information with you guys — so you can be experts, too! Make sure to follow along for more so that you never miss a thing.
Japan Pavilion
Oh, and while we’re here, there are still a couple months left of EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival.
If you haven’t gotten the chance to visit yet, and are curious about what the festival entails, click the link below.
Looking for information on EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival? Click here!
MAKE THE MOST
OF YOUR FESTIVAL DAYS
DFB's Guide to the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival details everything you need to know to maximize your time, budget, and stomach space! Know what's worth it and what to skip with our full-photo menus of each booth, complete with DFB's Best of the Fest.
It includes all the must-have information for navigating this one of the most BEAUTIFUL festivals at Disney World, including:
- 🌸 Booth & food photos, maps, and crawls with DFB's exclusive recommendations!
- 🐝 The COMPLETE schedule of events (so you don't have to go hunting for all the dates!)
- 🌳 All the details on special events, topiaries, festival exclusive merchandise, and more!
What’s your favorite country to visit in EPCOT’s World Showcase? Let us know in the comments!
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That IS so cool!!
Yah, we could be friends 😊
I love flower and garden, it gives hope that winter has ended and the summer season has begun!
Friends forever!!!!