Japanese garden playground

Right next to the river in Whakatāne, this one’s a bit different from your typical playground setup. The Japanese garden theme makes it stand out — it’s not something you’d expect to stumble across in a small Bay of Plenty town, but here we are. Accessibility is done well here, which you don’t always see. Honestly it’s a pretty peaceful spot, and the riverside setting does a lot of the heavy lifting atmospherically.