30 Comments:

• Great photos, but some of are Busch Gardens.

  By  Anonymous, at June 20, 2006 9:33 PM  

  ---

• I loved Japanese Deer Park! I was born in S.Cal in 1963, and visited the park often with my family and on school field trips. I remember feeding the deer (they mostly wanted to eat the lace off my socks, or the skirt of my dress). The bear show, karate shows I remember all too well.Absolutely wonderful. I think I was in the 4th grade (1974) when my dad told me the park closed due to diseased deer. My step-mom recently put together a photo album for me. Many pages of that precious photo album included pictures of me at Japanese Deer Park. What great memories. I now live in N. Cal and none of my friends ever heard of Japanese Deer Park. Their loss!

  By  Anonymous, at June 23, 2006 12:41 PM  

  ---

• I remember bits and pieces of Japanese Village and Deer Park. I was pretty young, but my elementary school would often choose that as a field trip destination (when we weren't going to Olvera Street for the 50th time). I especially remember the trained bears, the koi ponds, the origami displays in the shops, the tea ceremonies my Mom wouldn't let me go to (she thought I'd be too bored), and most of all -- ready for the crazy one? -- the large Nabisco sign on the building across the freeway!
  
  The poster on June 20 is correct, though. Many of the photos are actually the now-defunct Busch Gardens California (in Van Nuys). Specifically the shots containing large bodies of water with the boat and the "floating" building. That building was an eating area and free beer locale. I suspect many of the wildlife pics are also Busch Gardens, as it was a bird sanctuary, too.
  
  I will be hunting for Japanese Village photos to contribute to this page. I hope others do, too.

  By  Anonymous, at August 21, 2006 3:52 PM  

  ---

• Oh boy did this bring back memories. I was just telling my family about the Japanese Deer Park the other day. I recall my mother taking us there often along with my grandmother who lived in Norwalk. We lived in Santa Ana. I just remember it being a peaceful place and across the freeway from Nebisco (sp).

  By  Natalie, at October 29, 2006 10:58 PM  

  ---

• Back in 1970, a short "promo" film was made about me...I was a "child singer" who performed with such celebrities as Don Ho. Shot in 16mm, the film never served much purpose in its time period, but now is something of a historic document. We shot a sequence at the Japanese Village and Deer Park, with myself singing "Born Free", while deer were "encouraged" to follow me about. I had a wonderful time, being a 12 year old animal lover with a particular fondness for deer. Still, there were grueling
  
  hours of takes and retakes and
  it was extremely hot; I remember
  the producer and director invested in a paper Japanese parasol, and I spent a good deal of time in its shade.
  Years later, when I learned of the Park's demise, I was extremely saddened...another chunk of my bizarre but enjoyable childhood on the fringes of showbiz biting the dust. The film survives is in the
  keeping of an archivist friend of mine in Hawai'i. I also have a great many 35mm slides taken by my father during the filming...someday if I'm able to get them scanned, I can send them to you for the sake of preserving more Orange County Memories.

  By  Mindi, at January 13, 2007 8:14 PM  

  ---

• OMG! Japanese Village was magical to me. I remember this wonderful but very strange smell everytime I went there with my family. My last visit there I was 8 and I was determined to find out what that smell was. I wondered behind curtains where I wasn't allowed but I remember finding an old Japanese man melting wax that he would then mold into the most beautiful candles. I still remember the smell to this day but more importantly how wonderful Japanese Village was to me and how wonderful the staff was. It was also the only time in my life I got to pet a dolphin!

  By  ravenmidnight, at January 21, 2007 3:02 PM  

  ---

• I also was born in SoCal (pasadena) in 63 and remember this place....how badly I wanted a deer after visiting there...the net is amazing...just a few strokes and there it is..it's been so long I almost thought I imagined it, but the pics of the deer park and facade are right on. I don't have as many memories as some, as we only visited the place once that I remember, but I agree with a previious poster...anyone who didn't have a chance to experience this definitely missed something. Thanks for taking the time to put all this stuff up. definitely a melancholy walk down memory lane...

  By  Anonymous, at February 06, 2007 11:03 PM  

  ---

• I lived two miles from the park. During the summer they had dancing after dark. It was great to go for a date. You could see the shows, get teriyaki on a stick with white sticky rice, feed doves, koi and deer and wander through the shops. It was such a nice place. I loved the bear show, the karate exhibition and the dolphins. Such a serene place to spend the day.

  By  Anonymous, at February 08, 2007 11:28 AM  

  ---

• I was born in Garden Grove in 1960. My father used to take us to Japanese Village to see the deer and the shows...I still have a snow globe (most of the water has evaporated). Brings back wonderful childhood memories of growing up in Orange County.

  By  Anonymous, at February 28, 2007 6:36 PM  

  ---

• I vaguely remember the Japanese Deer Park. I remember the trained baers that would swing on a giant wooden swing until they went all the way around! Somewhere my parents have silent, color movies of the bears doing their thing on the swings. It also includes some great pan shots of the park. When I convert them to digital I'll post them here. I have tried to discuss the Japanese Deer Park with my wife but she is 7 years my junior and has never heard of it. She thinks I'm crazy. I'll have to show her this site!

  By  DJLCB, at May 13, 2007 3:05 PM  

  ---

• Sorry but strange question: were there sheep at Japanese Village and Deer Park? I have a photo of my then 3 old son (in 1970) snuggling up to a sheep; the location in my memory is JVDP. I suppose it could have been some petting zoo or may Knott's Berry Farm.
  I remember watching the Tea Ceremony with fascination.
  What a beautiful, calm place that was.

  By  Anonymous, at June 01, 2007 9:10 PM  

  ---

• Sorry, no sheep at the Japanese Village. Cheeta the chimp from the old Tarzan movies lived in the back. We had a lion, some tigers; we even had a large koi fish that could play cards (actually he was trained to select the non-face cards). We had a killer whale, dolphins, sea lions, and some Akita dogs. My most memorable moment was meeting Natalie Woods at the Japanese Village. She was with Ed "Kookie" Burns. They were eating lunch at the Teahouse and talked with me a bit. I didn't know that her real name was Natasha, and that she could speak Russian fluently.
  I was a show announcer at the Japanese Village. I announced the Bear Show and Dolphin Show. My name is Masa Ikeda.

  By  Masa Ikeda, at July 08, 2007 11:59 AM  

  ---

• I was born in 1970 in Manhattan Beach, CA. We have photos in an album or me as a tiny kid at this place from 1970-1972. I vaguely remember it. It's sad that this is gone along with Lion Country Safari at what was then Irvine RANCH! Also- remember Bush Gardens in Van Nuys and Marine World at Palos Verdes. I will share my memories of these great 1970s places with my kid someday.

  By  fonzieholly, at July 11, 2007 9:20 PM  

  ---

• I understand that the JV actually closed because of a disease that swept through their heard of deer. Very sad.

  By  Anonymous, at September 12, 2007 3:23 PM  

  ---

• It is true that the deer at the Japanese Village came down with an animal form of tuberculosis, but that was not the reason that the park closed.
  The Great Southwest Corporation, the parent company of Six Flags, purchased the Japanese Village in a package deal to get ownership of the Movieland Wax Museum. Once the deal was completed, closing the Japanese Village was a business decision. The profits from the Movieland Wax Museum had been keeping the Japanese Village alive. The Japanese Village was only profitable during the summer months and not profitable during the rest of the year.

  By  Masa Ikeda, at October 26, 2007 5:59 PM  

  ---

• Wow! Thanks so much for posting these photos. My wife grew up in Stanton, but she was born in '67 so either never went there or doesn't remember. We used to beg to go feed the deer. The best day trip was a combo Deer Park - Alligator Farm visit. These pictures bring back wonderful memories.

  By  Anonymous, at November 15, 2007 8:17 PM  

  ---

• I still remember Masa Ikeda, the world renowned jv&dp show announcer who drove a nice blue? corvette. A lady's man with a humble approach. An old tree at the end of Village Drive, Buena park is the only thing left from that era. Gone are the Big Tea House, Sake Bar, Koi Pond, Deer Field, Cash Control, Pearl Divers, Pavillion of the Rising Sun, the Smell from the Nabisco Plant, and the Dances.

  By  Anonymous, at December 26, 2007 5:39 PM  

  ---

• Graduating from Long Beach Poly we were always looking for a date spot. Married in 65 then went often due to limited funds. I still have an ashtray from there. Havn't smoked for 30 years but I would not part with the ashtray.

  By  Smoky, at December 28, 2007 7:29 PM  

  ---

• After the park closed some of the deer were taken to Cota De Caza country club and were kept in pens there, a few escaped and I would see them on my parents ranch. They were about 1/5 the size of the black tail mule deer common in that area.

  By  Greedy Landlord, at January 13, 2008 10:45 AM  

  ---

• Thank you so much to all who have contributed! I have no pictures but remember how much I loved to visit & feed the deer & the little keepsake dove that came in the food pack (=

  By  Melanie, at January 21, 2008 4:20 PM  

  ---

• This is so cool! I was born in '61 at Katella Community Hospital, and in trying to find info I found this blog. I haven't thought about the Japanese Deer Park in years! I, too, thought it was a magical place. Looking back, I am thankful to have grown up in Buena Park near so much magic, Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Japanese Deer Park, and all of the beaches. We moved north in 1975 and I never knew what happened to the park. By the way, does anyone know what happened to Katella Community Hospital in Stanton?

  By  Anonymous, at March 20, 2008 11:13 PM  

  ---

• Alas, I also remember the Japanese Deer Park. Gone too soon! I remember my mother and grandmother always looking for jewelry or other treasures in the shops and them paying the pearl diver who never seemed to bring up that elusive black pearl! I still have a tiny wooden Japanese jewelry box with drawers that I would use for my doll stuff. I wish there were nice places like this today to take children/grandchildren.

  By  Anonymous, at April 03, 2008 9:39 PM  

  ---

• I cannot express the intense surprise in finding this site! Japanese Village and Deer Park has always been a constant in my mind since I worked there at the Glass Blowers Shop back in 1971. I googled the Park on a whim (and from curiousity), and found myself with misty eyes. I was a teenager living in Santa Ana, and took the bus to and from work to try and help my Mom who was a struggling single Mother. My lunches were usually spent feeding the Koi and the Deer (some small humor; the smells being with the deer was very much more welcomed than the paints I used painting the wonderful creations of the Master Glass Blower!:-). I agree with some of the messages I've read, that it has been so long, that it almost seems like it was a dream! If it weren't for the fact that I worked there, it would indeed seem like a 'dream', for a dream it truly was . . .to be surrounded by beauty, tranquility and the culture of my Ancestors. I was very Blessed with the opportunity to have worked there, and will carry the memory with me forever.

  By  Anonymous, at April 21, 2008 6:45 PM  

  ---

• Does anyone remember exactly where it was? I wonder what is there now.

  By  exdisney27, at May 31, 2008 8:57 AM  

  ---

• Japanese Deer Park was just wonderful! A friend of mine worked there feeding the dolphins, and also took a Karate(?) class there with Chuck Norris as the instructor. It was such a beautiful place and it was a perfect place for a date! I cherish my memories from that time and am sad that it's not there anymore. It was a magical place!

  By  suitcasedeb, at June 11, 2008 6:18 PM  

  ---

• Thank You!! Wow! That brought back some great memories. I grew up my whole life in Buena Park and remember it very well.. I wish it were still here!

  By  Anonymous, at June 24, 2008 11:41 AM  

  ---

• My Mother used to love to visit the Japanese Deer Park back in the late 60's. She offered to take me there after I was discharged from the Navy
  because it didn't exist before I left. It's strange that I now live just a mile or so from the old Deer Park location which was just off Knott Ave. with Artesia Blvd. bordering on the North and Village Drive is South of that. It's now the site of a small Industrial Complex and Park.

  By  Anonymous, at July 01, 2008 1:01 PM  

  ---

• Thank you for the photos. I was born in Anaheim in 1965 and I too have great memories as a young boy going there. I seem to remember dolphins there too but I did not see any pictures of them.

  By  Anonymous, at July 17, 2008 9:52 PM  

  ---

• what a fun walk down memory lane! My mom worked for JV&DP when it was coupled with Movieland Wax Museum. We went often, I loved the dolphin shows and petting the deer. My mom was a great dumpster diver, our house was filled with slightly damaged stuff they could not sell at the gift shops. I always thought we were part japanese. My sis and I worked at the Museum during our High School years, what a place! Anyone remember Marilyn Westlake?

  By  Anonymous, at August 04, 2008 5:34 PM  

  ---

• I once dated one of the JV&DP porpoise riders. B.R. & I met at Western High in the 68-69 school year. She was a junior, I a senior. Her father was an American soldier who married a Japanese woman. B, if you ever read this, I still have your picture in the grass skirt! JV&DP was a wonderful contrast to hectic places like Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm.

  By  Randy O., at August 21, 2008 2:52 PM  

  ---

Post a Comment

<< Home