JFG Haiku Hunt

Embark on a journey where ancient traditions and today’s technology collide at the San Diego Japanese Friendship Garden (JFG), with a new location-based mobile tour. Download the app to solve clues to find designated locations in the serene garden.

Haikus (a form of Japanese poetry), Sumi-e ink drawings (Japanese brush painting), and corresponding sounds provide clues to each location within the Garden. Once a location is discovered, the user receives a message that they have solved the clues and the app unlocks hidden facts and information about the specific location. Unlock all of the clues, and the visitor will receive a reward.

Mobile devices with this app are able to sense when they are close to selected artworks thanks to a technology dubbed “Place Sticker” by Information Services International-Dentsu LTD, Tokyo, Japan. In collaboration with the Balboa Park Online Collaborative, the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Japan, and the Pacific Rim Undergraduate Experience (PRIME) program at University of California, San Diego (UCSD), the San Diego Japanese Friendship Garden is the first in the U.S. to feature a solar version of the Place Sticker.

The San Diego Japanese Friendship Garden is located in Balboa Park at 2215 Pan American Road. E, San Diego, CA 92101