If you're visiting, check out these spots:

• The Japanese Garden -- This 3.5-acre oasis of serenity, built in 1960 under the watchful guise of a noted Japanese designer, is located just off Lake Washington Boulevard, north of East Madison Street. The Japanese Garden, with its gravel pathways and subdued plantings and placid little lake, is painstakingly maintained by the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department. Admission is charged to the fenced-off grounds ($2.50 for adults, $1.50 for students and seniors), although this may well be one of the cheapest tickets providing an instant trip to Japan. Feeding the huge, brightly colored Japanese carp (koi) is a delight at any age.

• The Daily Grind -- This Montlake institution at 2301 24th Ave. E. has been purveying espresso drinks and in-house baked delights since 1981 when it was started by three neighborhood moms (Joan Rothrock, Francie Henry, Mary Davis) hoping to create a neighborhood place to gather and schmooze. It continues to succeed at that under new owner Nancy Nickles, who is often behind the counter, suggesting to the uninitiated that they really must try the fruit rolls. The Daily Grind opens at 5 a.m. every day.

• Washington Park Arboretum Waterfront Trail -- This often-soggy pathway through the largest wetland left in Seattle is a civic treasure. It wends its way through bogs and over bridges from the Museum of History and Industry to the Arboretum's Visitors Center (both locations have parking). The trail provides close-up encounters with flourishing plant and wildlife, as well as canoeists using rental watercraft from the University of Washington. Spectacular vistas of Husky Stadium and Lake Washington are diminished slightly by the roar of traffic emanating from nearby Highway 520.

• Montlake Mousse -- This devilishly light but decadent dessert is the only product that carries the Montlake moniker to markets throughout the Seattle area. It is the brainchild of entrepreneur Jack Burg, who was once known primarily as the manager of his then-wife, folk singer Ginny Reilly. Montlake Mousse was developed in the kitchen of Burg's Montlake home, following exhaustive and highly caloric tests. Montlake Mousse now comes in five flavors (double chocolate, espresso, orange, raspberry, mint). It is still advertised as being "Made in the Shadow of Husky Stadium," even though it is now produced in a commercial facility in West Seattle. "Mountake Mousse was conceived in 1992, the year the Huskies won the National Championship," explains Burg, "and the shadow of Husky Stadium loomed so long and large that it covered well past West Seattle."

• West Montlake Park -- This expanse of lawn and trees, at the west end of East Hamlin Street and just north of the Seattle Yacht Club, offers one of the city's most pleasing vistas. It provides a picnic-ready site to take in the boat traffic in Portage Bay, the houseboat community, and the soaring Interstate 5 bridge beyond. A path leads east from West Montlake Park along the south side of the Montlake Cut.