Morikami Museum: Hidden Delight in Delray Beach, Florida

As you drive up to it though, you realize immediately that you're leaving the Sunshine State behind and heading to the Far East. The gardens begin even before you enter, with a small display outside, which starts to give you some idea of the wonders that are to follow.

So how did this place start? Although it first opened its doors in 1977, its history dates back to the turn of that century. In 1904, Jo Sakai, who had been studying at New York University, returned to his home in Miyazu, Japan to organize a group of farmers who would settle north of Boca Raton in Florida. Help came from a subsidiary company of Henry Flagler's East Coast Railway and, with that aid, they formed a farming community, which they hoped would revolutionize farming in America.

Sadly, the experiment didn't give the results they were hoping for and the community dissolved around 20 years after it started, with families giving up and returning home to Japan. Only one Japanese settler remained, the man after whom this place is named – George Sukeji Morikami, who continued to farm here and sell fruit and vegetables. In the mid 1970s, he donated his land to preserve it as a park and honor the memory of the colony that had existed here.

Some of the amazing Japanese Gardens at the Morikami Museum.