Shah Alam, Selangor
The Selangor-Japan Friendship Garden is a 2.42-hectare Japanese-style garden on the East Lake of Shah Alam Lake Gardens, opposite Dataran Kemerdekaan. Built at a cost of over RM3.8 million, it was officially opened on 12 March 2021 by Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) Mayor Datuk Haris Kasim alongside Japan Embassy Third Secretary Iwai Imari, symbolising Selangor's long-running trade and investment ties with Japan. Its official Malay name, Taman Persahabatan Selangor-Jepun, reflects that diplomatic purpose. The garden layers traditional Japanese elements, koi and maze ponds, a zen garden of raked gravel and stone, a reflexology path, timber torii gateways, a tsukubai stone washbasin, and a wave-patterned fountain inspired by Hokusai's woodblock print, into a compact, free public space built for both quiet contemplation and photographs.
Taman Persahabatan Selangor-Jepun
Official Malay name, in use since the garden's opening on 12 March 2021
1985
Taman Tasik Shah Alam (Shah Alam Lake Gardens) opens as Selangor's first public park, a 43-hectare site designed by Japanese architect Fumiaki Takano, decades before the Japanese garden it would later host.
6 May 2025
Selangor honours nine Japanese manufacturers, including Canon, Daikin, DENSO, Panasonic and Sony, at its Selangor Japan Investors Appreciation Awards, recognising more than six decades of continuous Japanese investment in the state, the relationship this garden was built to commemorate.
12 March 2021
The Selangor-Japan Friendship Garden opens on the park's East Lake, built at a cost of over RM3.8 million and inaugurated by Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) Mayor Datuk Haris Kasim and Japan Embassy Third Secretary Iwai Imari.
Today
The garden's zen garden, reflexology path, koi and maze ponds, torii gateways and Hokusai-inspired fountain draw visitors for free daily strolls, photography and wedding photo shoots on the East Lake shore.
Zen garden and reflexology path
A raked-gravel and stone zen garden centred on a single tree sits alongside a reflexology garden of stone-lined paths designed for barefoot foot massage.
Koi pond and maze pond
Twin ponds crossed by timber bridges, stocked with koi carp, form the garden's centrepiece water features.
Torii gateways and tsukubai
Traditional wooden torii gates mark the garden's thresholds, alongside a tsukubai, a stone water basin traditionally used for ritual hand-washing before Japanese tea ceremonies.
Hokusai-inspired wave fountain
A water feature patterned after the wave motif of Katsushika Hokusai's woodblock print The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
Setting on Shah Alam Lake Gardens' East Lake
The garden occupies part of Selangor's first public park, opened in 1985 and originally designed by Japanese architect Fumiaki Takano, adding a layer of history to the garden's cross-cultural theme.
It opened on 12 March 2021, built at a cost of over RM3.8 million, and was inaugurated by Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) Mayor Datuk Haris Kasim together with Japan Embassy Third Secretary Iwai Imari.
It was built to symbolise decades of trade and investment ties between Selangor and Japan. In May 2025, Selangor recognised more than six decades of continuous investment from Japanese manufacturers including Canon, Daikin, DENSO, Panasonic and Sony.
It features a zen garden of raked gravel and stone, a reflexology path, koi and maze ponds, timber torii gateways, a tsukubai stone washbasin, and a fountain patterned after Hokusai's Great Wave woodblock print.
Yes. It sits on the East Lake of Shah Alam Lake Gardens (Taman Tasik Shah Alam), Selangor's first public park, opened in 1985 on a 43-hectare site originally designed by Japanese architect Fumiaki Takano.
Taman Persahabatan Selangor-Jepun, the name it has carried since opening on 12 March 2021.
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