Bonsai trees displayed against tan walls among tall firs at the Pacific Bonsai Museum

Pacific Bonsai Museum

Photo: Fida via Google Maps

Pacific Bonsai Museum is an outdoor museum of living art, set among tall conifers on the campus of the former Weyerhaeuser headquarters in Federal Way. It shares an entrance with the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, and the museum describes itself as one of the few public collections worldwide solely dedicated to bonsai.

The collection holds about 150 trees, and roughly 50 are on display at any given time, rotating with the seasons. That means the display you see in spring is not the one you will find in autumn, so it rewards a return trip, and the quiet gravel paths make for an unhurried stop in the South Sound.

What You’ll See

The trees come from Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the United States, and some are more than 400 years old. The museum calls it the most geographically diverse public bonsai collection in the country. Most of the trees are displayed outdoors, with some in an indoor conservatory.

  • The Furuzawa Pine: the museum’s most historically significant tree, a Japanese black pine grown from seed by Japanese American Juzaburo Furuzawa while he was detained during World War II. It was stolen in 2020 and returned within 72 hours.
  • Decades of training: look for specimens like a Japanese black pine in training since 1950 and a Formosan juniper in training since 1959.
  • Seasonal rotation: with only about a third of the collection out at once, each season brings a different lineup of trees to the display.

A free digital guide is available through the Bloomberg Connects app, so you can read about each tree as you walk.

The Story Behind It

The Weyerhaeuser Company started the collection in 1989 as the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection, timed to Washington State’s centennial and to the company’s commitment to its community and forests. In 2013 the company gifted the entire collection to a new nonprofit, which became Pacific Bonsai Museum.

Today the museum is designated a World Bonsai Friendship Federation Cooperation Center, and a new George Weyerhaeuser Welcome Center is being designed by the architecture firm Mithun.

Tips for Your Visit

  • Parking is across the street; look for the “Garden Parking” sign near the West Gate Entry. There is a passenger drop off and two accessible parking spaces at the museum entrance.
  • The museum is ADA, walker and wheelchair accessible, with relatively flat walkways of fine gravel. Wheelchairs are not available to borrow.
  • Pets are not allowed, though service animals are welcome.
  • Personal photography is encouraged, but tripods need permission from the museum office. Please do not touch the bonsai, and keep food out of the exhibit area.
  • Make a day of it next door at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, which shares the entrance.

Plan Your Visit

Address: 2515 S 336th St, Federal Way, WA 98001
Phone: 253.353.7345
Website: pacificbonsaimuseum.org
Hours and admission: Check the museum website for current days, hours, and admission before you visit.
Directions: View on Google Maps

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