STAMP Hours
Wednesday – Friday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Closed Monday & Tuesday
STAMP pass holders may access special exhibits or events with a discount. Discount codes will be made available on Shofuso’s website.
Please note:
In keeping with Japanese tradition, visitors must remove their shoes before entering the house. Please wear socks or stockings; in the event you do not have socks, we offer disposable peds. If you are unable to take off your shoes, we can provide shoe covers for you to wear inside the house, though staff will inspect shoes to determine if they would pose the risk of damage to our historic flooring (heels, cleats, steel-toed shoes, etc., will not be allowed in the house.)
We do not serve food on site during regular visitation days and do not permit visitors to bring in food. You are welcome to bring a picnic to eat outside in Fairmount Park. Tea ceremonies are conducted monthly, and are separate ticketed events.
Because the house is a historic site and drones pose a risk of accidentally damaging the structures, we have a strict no-drone policy.
We permit cosplay at Shofuso, though staff may ask that certain props or costuming that may pose a risk to the house or others be removed. Please be mindful of other visitors and do not bring any costume accessories or props that may damage the house or garden.
About Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center
Shofuso is a 17th century style Japanese house with three styles of Japanese gardens. The house was first constructed in Nagoya, Japan, then shipped to New York City and reassembled at the Museum of Modern Art as part of a special exhibition. Shofuso later moved to Philadelphia’s West Fairmount Park and reopened to the public in 1958.
Shofuso highlights the construction techniques and building materials of 16th and 17th century Japan. Twenty murals by contemporary artist Hiroshi Senju fill the main rooms of the house: the artist’s largest collection in the US. The accompanying gardens include a hill and pond garden with a waterfall and a pond stocked with koi, a tea garden which surrounds Shofuso’s tea house, and a small courtyard garden leading to a bathhouse. Complimentary tours are included with admission; special events including tea ceremony demonstrations, cultural celebrations, and musical performances take place monthly.
Location
Horticultural Dr and Lansdowne Dr, Philadelphia, PA 19131
Getting There
Shofuso is located a five-minute walk from the Please Touch Museum, on the grounds of the Horticulture Center, in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.
Take Septa Bus 38, Septa Bus 40, or the PhillyPhlash to the Please Touch Museum. If facing the Please Touch Museum, turn left and walk down the Avenue of the Republic until you reach the sign for Shofuso Japanese House and Garden. Turn right onto the path and follow it until you go through the gate. Shofuso will be directly ahead.
GPS Coordinates
+39°58’53.04″, -75°12’46.08″
Driving Directions
Take Exit 341 from I-76 (the Schuylkill Expressway).
Head west on Montgomery Drive
Turn left onto Belmont Mansion Drive (at the sign for the Horticultural Center and the Japanese House and Garden)
Slight left onto Horticultural Drive (pass through the black iron gate)
Turn right to stay on Horticultural Drive (follow the drive around the greenhouses to the Japanese House)
Park in our free parking lot
For further assistance, call Shofuso’s visitor services at .
Accessibility
Service animals who have been trained to work or perform certain tasks are allowed at Shofuso. In order to preserve Shofuso’s historic flooring, we ask that service dogs wear soft booties inside of the house. Booties are available to borrow upon request. There are no restrictions on service animals in our garden.
Because Shofuso reflects the conditions of seventeenth-century Japan, it is not wheelchair or scooter accessible. While Shofuso is not easily accessible to users of walkers, canes, or prosthetics, those mobility devices are permitted in the house so long as they have rubber tips or are covered in a soft protective covering to preserve our historic flooring. For more information, please see Title II of the ADA.
Photography
Casual and non-commercial photography and videography are allowed at Shofuso during regular hours. Photographers will be chaperoned by a visitor services assistant and must be mindful of other visitors. Tripods are allowed, but we do not permit special lighting equipment.