Japanese gardens had been widely created outside Japan and may also have generated various levels of awareness and impressions overseas. It is therefore interesting to study how foreigners understand Japanese gardens to unfold ideas for the future development of Japanese gardens outside Japan as instrument for cultural exchange. This study was conducted to determine and understand the awareness and impressions of Filipinos on Japanese gardens and analyze the factors of appreciation. A photo survey questionnaire was prepared using the semantic differential method. Japanese informants were also surveyed as the control treatment, while Filipino and Western informants in Japan as the comparative group. Results then were analyzed using factor and cluster analyses. The results showed that the individuals impression differ depending on ones exposure to Japanese garden. Filipinos who had visited Japanese gardens have had their impression based on the visual and emotional factors while those who had not, expressed their appreciation strongly on a visual level. Filipino and Western informants in Japan expressed similar results but still incomparable to Japanese informants results. Cluster analysis revealed that amongst the three types of Japanese gardens, Filipinos idea of a Japanese garden is strongly represented by the Hill-and-pond garden (Rinsen) type.