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A sparkling waterfall cascades down huge stones into a blue-green lake surrounded by patches of plush, round plants. The blackened earth has been raked into wavelike patterns resembling a dark ocean.

The Sasebo Japanese Garden at Albuquerque Biological Park's Rio Grande Botanic Garden officially opens today, just in time for a weekend of international celebrations.

As part of a Japanese custom, Mayor Martin Chavez will have the honor of being the first person to leave his footprints in the garden's dark sand at a ceremony this morning. The mayor is scheduled to lead the way to the beat of Japanese taiko drums past a large bell tower, through the garden's big wooden gates and up to a deck overlooking the lake.

In honor of International Day, the biopark will host musical and dance traditions from Japan, Africa, Ireland, Hawaii and elsewhere from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Part of the biopark's master plan since the 1990s, the garden is a combined effort of park staff and Toru Tanaka, a Japanese-garden designer based in Portland, Ore.

Catherine Hubbard, who manages the botanic garden, said the Albuquerque garden is a unique approach to the replicas of Japanese gardens all over the world. Hubbard said Tanaka helped the biopark infuse the natural beauty of New Mexico with Japanese traditions.

"A lot of it is just looking at things through the lens of the Japanese," Hubbard said. "I think it's wonderful because in the Southwest we have a lot of the same aesthetics of the Japanese because of our desert. Less is more."

With a view of the Sandia Mountains to the east and the stretch of the bosque to the west, the Sasebo Japanese Garden seems like another world but is distinctly New Mexican.

In addition to traditional Japanese foliage, cottonwood trees and elms are pruned and sculpted in the Japanese aesthetic. Low-lying strawberry plants and pines dot the mulch-covered soil, but biopark associate director Ray Darnell said that won't be the case for long.

"Eventually, all this foliage will grow together and really give that Japanese look of a rolling green sea," Darnell said.

Water lilies and lotuses will soon adorn the wide lake, which is surrounded by large stone Japanese lanterns carved with elaborate designs. A tiny copper house about a foot tall, called a juzo, is perched neatly on the edge of the lake with two small figurines inside, symbolizing friendship.

Hubbard said many of the garden's plants are adapted to the New Mexico climate, although some are still being tested to see how they fare.

"We really wanted to do what was right for Albuquerque but is still Asian," Hubbard said.

Nearly all the construction work was done by local contractors, something that Hubbard said is a rarity because most Japanese gardens are built with Japanese labor.

The garden's cost is pegged at $1.7 million, officials said, noting that the biopark is the No. 1 tourist attraction in New Mexico, drawing 1.1 million visitors annually.

Officials say they hope the Japanese garden will be used for meditative and educational purposes and as a tool for understanding other cultures.

"We just hope people enjoy coming here," Hubbard said. "This is such a wonderful gift to the people of Albuquerque. We want them to come and find a new part of themselves - a more peaceful part."