Santa Barbara Botanic Garden & ShinKanAn Teahouse and Japanese Garden

Widely regarded as a model botanic garden, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is a living museum and a member of the American Alliance of Museums, dedicated to research, education, and conservation of California native plants.

As an accredited museum and botanic garden, the SBBG differentiates itself from being just another beautiful place with open space and pretty flowers. The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is a living museum where collections-based research preserves California native plants and displays them in a beautiful setting.

As a botanic garden, by definition, our institution holds documented collections of living plants for the purposes of scientific research, conservation, display and education.
As with other botanic gardens, the SBBG also provides visitor services that include tours, educational activities, displays, art exhibitions and a variety of forms of entertainment. We are one of only 30 gardens accredited by the American Alliance of Museums as a living museum.

Bring Your Walking Shoes
The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden covers 78 acres and has more than 5 miles of trails, so the length of time it takes to walk around the entire garden depends on which trails you choose to take and how long you spend at each area of the garden.

However, the Garden Loop Trail, which is a 1-mile loop that takes visitors through some of the garden's most popular areas, typically takes about 45 minutes to an hour to complete at a leisurely pace with stops to enjoy the scenery.

Please note that this estimate is based on a leisurely walking pace and may vary depending on individual fitness levels and the amount of time spent enjoying the various plants and exhibits.

About the Japanese Teahouse
The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has a tea house called ShinKanAn Teahouse, which is located in its Japanese Garden. The tea house was designed by the Japanese architect Toyojiro Ayabe and constructed by Japanese craftsmen using traditional Japanese techniques and materials.

ShinKanAn Teahouse was built in 1980, and it is an authentic tea house that follows the principles of the Japanese tea ceremony. The tea house is made of wood and has a traditional thatched roof. The interior is designed in a minimalist style, with tatami mats on the floor, shoji screens on the windows, and a simple hearth for heating water.

Visitors to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden can participate in the Japanese tea ceremony at ShinKanAn Teahouse, which is led by a tea ceremony master. The ceremony includes the preparation and serving of matcha (powdered green tea) and traditional Japanese sweets. The ceremony is a way to experience Japanese culture and the principles of harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility that are central to the tea ceremony.

It's worth noting that ShinKanAn Teahouse is not an original tea house from Japan. It was constructed in Santa Barbara by Japanese craftsmen using traditional techniques and materials, following the principles of Japanese tea house design.