While there are many things to love about EPCOT and all of the park’s festivals, one of the BEST aspects of these months-long events is the opportunity to learn something new about each of the different cultures represented in the 11 World Showcase pavilions.

Throughout the International Flower and Garden Festival, the countries showcased at EPCOT receive a little extra TLC when it comes to landscaping and the small gardens you’ll see throughout each pavilion. After all, it’s called the Flower and Garden Festival for a reason! Well, we learned something new about a garden that’s on display in the Japan Pavilion, and it draws inspiration from a couple other Disney World icons. Ready to check it out? Let’s go!

Disney shared a video on TikTok that showcased a garden in the Japan Pavilion at EPCOT. (There are little gardens like this one all throughout World Showcase during the Flower & Garden Festival, like a rainforest garden in Mexico and a tea garden in the UK pavilion.)

The garden features the Japanese shishi-odoshi, which directly translates to “scare deer.”

@disneyparks

Fun fact: the bamboo in this shishi-odoshi was actually harvested from Animal Kingdom and the Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom! #Disney #DisneyParks #DisneyWorld #EPCOT #WorldShowcase #FlowerandGardenFestival

♬ original sound – Disney Parks

In Japanese cultures, these “clicking” devices were used to (you guessed it) scare deer and other herbivores away from the gardens to prevent losing crops. Neat, huh?

Well, at EPCOT, no crops are being grown in this garden to feed the masses, so the shishi-odoshi is being used to create a musical garden instead. Drums, bells, and chimes were added by EPCOT’s horticulture team to enhance the sounds. Listen to the sounds it makes in the video above. Isn’t it relaxing?

The coolest part about this musical garden is that the materials were sourced from other locations around Disney World. Specifically, the bamboo was sourced from Disney’s Animal Kingdom as well as the areas surrounding Jungle Cruise in Magic Kingdom. That makes the whole thing even more special, huh? Maybe the plants you saw the last time you rode Jungle Cruise are busy making music in EPCOT right now!

We love learning about little snippets of culture while also learning some new things about Disney Park operations. When we learn new things, we always make sure to share the information with you guys — so you can be experts, too! Make sure to follow along for more so that you never miss a thing.

Oh, and while we’re here, there are still a couple months left of EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival.

 

If you haven’t gotten the chance to visit yet, and are curious about what the festival entails, click the link below.

Looking for information on EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival? Click here!