Exploring Den Haag Japanese Garden & Clingendael Park

Clingendael Park in Den Haag is home to a lovely Japanese Garden. This weekend marked opening weekend for the garden so we decided to pop over and check it out.
The Japanese Garden is only open to the public about eight weeks each year in Spring and Fall, but it is worth the visit. This tranquil garden is the perfect place to enjoy the beauty of nature. The garden even shared its tranquility with my children, who explored the bridges and rock paths quietly.
The garden is small and does not allow pets or strollers inside. You can leave your dog, bike or stroller at the entrance to the garden. We arrived close to opening and shared the garden with only a few people. If you arrive later expect it to be crowded. The crowds were growing an hour after opening.
We parked at the entrance to Clingendael Park (street parking is free on weekends) and walked through the park into the Japanese Garden.
We entered the park from the south and followed paths past the livestock fields and through the woods to the Japanese Garden. The paths were occupied by runners, but not so crowded as to take away from the enjoyment.
Leaving the gardens we continued on our circuit toward the canals. The kids enjoyed some flower picking before we happened upon an apiary. We could not pass up the opportunity to stop into Imkerij Clingendael’s little store. As luck would have it the bee keeper was in and took some time to explain the 12 varietals of honey and showed the kids the bee hives. We left with a jar of local (from the park!) honey. Jeff had never before seen bee pollen for sale so he picked up a jar of that. Perplexed by the small, yellow & brown granules, Jeff talked to the bee keeper about how he collects the pollen. He uses a mesh covering over the bee boxes that rubs the pollen from the legs of the bees. The pollen granules collect in a hopper and he jars it for sale. Jeff’s been enjoying the pollen in his yogurt for breakfast. Be sure to read up on the health benefits and warnings of bee pollen before you buy your own.
We were on our way to another event so we missed the large playground in Clingendael Park and the Tea House, which serves tea, coffee and cake. Those spots are on our agenda for our next visit, when we will hopefully come back with bikes to further explore this lovely little park.
[divider style=’centered’]
This post is linked up with:
That looks like such an interesting place to visit, the gardens look so serene. #CountryKids
(just an aside, don’t know if you realise but your Instagram button at the top of your page has a broken link)
Oh thank you! I had no idea so I will fix that right away.
This sounds like an adventure in it’s own right and yet it was only part of your day. I love that it was full of surprises thanks to the Bee keeper who sounds very informative. the Japanese gardens look stunning, it sounds like a wise move to arrive early and beat the crows there. Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids
Oh it looks so pretty and peaceful there. I just love all the reflections you’ve captured in the water too, gorgeous pictures! It was really good of the bee keeper to take the time to explain the 12 types of honey too.xx #CountryKids
I always love Japanese garden because the design is simple yet beautiful and calming like this one that you visited. A real nice place for a trip! And those honeys are gorgeous. Its my dream to be a beekeeper! #countrykids
Such a beautiful space to explore and how great to get all the insider info from the beekeeper. I can see why many return trips are in order. Thanks for linking to #citytripping
What a gorgeous place, this looks so tranquil – and very special when it’s only open for such a short time every year too. #citytripping
Excellent pieces. Keep posting such kind of info on your site.Im really impressed by your site.Hello there, You’ve performed a fantastic job.