Bellagio Reopens With Japanese-Themed Conservatory Display

By Scott Roeben, on June 11 2020
3 min read 13 comments
Las Vegas Things to Do in Las Vegas

The debut of the new Japanese-themed display at the Bellagio Conservatory may have been delayed by world events, but the horticultural wizards at the Strip resort have managed to pull off another impressive jaw-dropper.

The Bellagio Conservatory is one of the best free things to do in Las Vegas, and Las Vegas needs its eye-popping attractions more than ever.

Here’s a look inside the new display, starting with a replica of Osaka Castle.

Bellagio Japanese display
Osaka means “large hill” in Japanese,” making this the most useless photo caption you’ll read all day.

The new display, “Japan Journey: Magical Kansai” was supposed to debut March 21, but the unveiling was pushed back due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Japanese-themed exhibit runs through Sep. 12, 2020.

Bellagio Japanese theme
Flowers made of flowers are the “Inception” of horticultural magic.

On the day we visited, it was eerily quiet at the Conservatory. The venue has subtly adjusted how guests move through the attraction, helping avoid crowding.

While the lack of patrons isn’t great for the hotel, it makes the experience a lot more enjoyable for guests and the photo ops are better than ever.

Bellagio Conservatory
Remember all those times you wished people would get out of your way? Not an issue anymore.

One of the highlights of the new display is a giant Hello Kitty.

The news release says Hello Kitty is 14 feet tall. A placard at the Conservatory says it’s 16 feet tall. We love a good conspiracy!

Bellagio Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty is made of 30,000 roses, or about the number of flowers we tell people we send on Mother’s Day.

Fun fact: Hello Kitty’s last name is White.

The exhibit also has Sika deer, butterflies, a bamboo forest and a three-story pagoda.

Why a Japanese theme? Well, MGM Resorts publicly says it “reflects MGM Resorts International’s commitment to celebrating Japanese culture.”

The reality is MGM Resorts has invested what’s estimated to be $100 million in getting a license to operate a casino resort in Osaka, Japan.

Officials were hoping to get a resort open by 2025, but those hopes were dashed by the pandemic.

Still, MGM Resorts has made it clear there’s woo being pitched, and a Japanese-themed display at the Conservatory shows Japanese officials and travelers the company is in it for the long haul.

Bellagio Conservatory
The attention to detail is, as always, a wonder to see.

An intriguing element of this year’s display is the main entrance that sends guests through the mouth of a lion. The Conservatory says the “wide-opened mouth of the lion is believed to swallow evil spirits and bring about success and good fortune.”

A long-standing myth in Las Vegas holds that the original entrance to MGM Grand had to be changed because it forced guests to walk into the mouth of a lion, presumably considered bad luck by Asian tourists. They didn’t actually walk into the lion’s mouth, as they do at Bellagio, they walked under the lion’s chin, but we should never let facts get in the way of a good story.

Bellagio lion
Good luck or bad, this is awesome.

Several elements of the display made their debut last year, including the butterflies and Osaka Castle replica.

As we were the first to report, Bellagio previously made the decision to cut back on the number of its displays, from five seasonal displays to four each year.

It’s not the number of displays that counts, it’s the quality of the stamen. Or something.

Bellagio pigoda
We love these Nishijin-ori textile ribbons! Yes, we knew what they were called off the top of our head, not because we read a news release.

Everything in Vegas is a little off right now, which might explain why Bellagio hasn’t updated the official Conservatory Web page with the current display. We’re just happy it happened at all.

Enjoy more poorly composed and out-of-focus photos of the Bellagio Conservatory’s “Japan Journey” display.