I've spent all my money on trees and can't afford this. Although, I may reconsider if there's a free lunch and beer garden included...Gonna be in Portland next week, and was considering stopping by Bonsai Mirai. I will have my wife and daughter with me, so it would have taken some political capital expenditureChecked out their web site to see what their visitor policy was... and was stunned to see they charge $50 per head just to VISIT. $150 just to walk through the nursery?
Mirai Visits
Any time I see something like this I am always a little confused. Is this their way of saying "we don't really want visitors?" Or "we don't sell retail"? I always thought they sold trees, but apparently not. Guess the streaming video business is wildly lucrative
Not sure if you’ve ever checked out the pits on their page, but it’s definitely all about the Benjamins....I guess I'm spoiled. Here in SoCal you can go to the Huntington Gardens, which are 150 acres of Chinese and Japanese gardens, with rose gardens, herb gardens, desert gardens, an extensive conservatory with a rain forest, bog, etc. Plus they have an extensive bonsai and suiseki collection donated by numerous big names. It normally costs $25 a head, but you can stay all day, visit the library, see several art museums, etc. If you are a member of a bonsai club, you can go up for the Bonsai-a-thon, and entrance that day is free, plus they give you free behind-the-scenes tours.
It just surprised me... and leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I would much rather have had them say "we don't take visitors" than "we take visitors... for $150". I'd rather just buy a nice pot
Since I originally posted this four years ago, Mirai has had several thefts/vandalism events. I hadn't ever thought about the $50 being a barrier to screening out people who might not have good intentions - and who might simply want to check out your security arrangements
Within that context, charging an entrance fee makes more sense. And if that is the case, it is really sad...
bonsaitonight.com
Their one major vandalism event was personal, turns out it was the ex wife. The entrance fee is purely for lucrative reasons.Since I originally posted this four years ago, Mirai has had several thefts/vandalism events. I hadn't ever thought about the $50 being a barrier to screening out people who might not have good intentions - and who might simply want to check out your security arrangements
