How to Do Nihonzaru Bug Glitch Grow a Garden Guide

The Grow a Garden community has discovered a strange new bug that’s creating a huge stir, especially among players who use pets like the Mimic Octopus. This glitch, often called the Nihonzaru Bug, lets you massively reduce a pet’s passive ability cooldown—dropping it from several minutes down to just a few seconds if done correctly. If you’re looking to increase your income and ability output in-game, here’s everything you need to know about how it works. Also check out our Grow a Garden Codes for more rewards!

What Is the Nihonzaru Bug?

The glitch revolves around using Nihonzaru pets, hot springs, and any pet whose cooldown you want to reduce—most players are doing this with the Mimic Octopus. When done properly, this trick forces the passive cooldown of a pet to reset much faster than usual.

Some users have reported cooldowns being reduced from 17 minutes down to just 15 seconds. That’s a huge difference, especially for pets that copy or activate powerful abilities. To try this bug, make sure you have:

• 1 Mimic Octopus (or any pet whose passive you want to glitch)
• 3 or more Nihonzaru pets (from the Zen egg)
• 3 or more Hot Springs (can be purchased from the shop)

Method 1: Manual Glitching Steps

1. Place Your Hot Springs
   Place all your hot springs in your garden before doing anything else.
2. Wait for Cooldown Timing
   Put down your Mimic Octopus and wait until its passive timer reaches 1 minute and 5 seconds.
3. Add All Nihonzaru Pets
   When your pet hits the 1:05 mark, immediately place all of your Nihonzaru pets into the garden.
4. Remove at the Last Second
   Wait until your mimic octopus hits 1 second left on its cooldown. Then, quickly remove all Nihonzaru pets one by one.
5. Check the Cooldown
   If done correctly, the cooldown timer should now be shorter. You can repeat this method to reduce it even further over time.

Method 2: AFK Variation (Overnight Method)

This version is less manual but works similarly:

1. Place down 3 hot springs and 3 Nihonzaru pets.
2. Go AFK or offline for around 3 hours.
3. When you log back in, quickly place the pet whose cooldown you want to bug (e.g., Mimic Octopus).
4. Immediately place the Nihonzaru pets again, then swap the pet slots or remove/re-add.
5. Check the cooldown—it should be significantly reduced.

This method has been used overnight by many players, and some report cooldowns dropping to under 30 seconds.

Why This Glitch Is So Powerful

Some users have managed to get their Mimic Octopus to copy abilities every 2 seconds, leading to insane income and ability stacking. Others have seen pets like the T-Rex or Spinosaurus activate abilities with 15-second cooldowns, which normally take 15–18 minutes.

The Nihonzaru Bug is one of the most overpowered tricks currently circulating in Grow a Garden. Whether you’re trying to earn more coins or just want your pets to spam their skills, this method is worth testing out. While it’s likely to be patched soon, it’s a great way to get ahead if you act fast. Have you tried this glitch yourself? Let us know your results, and feel free to share any updated tips in the comments to help others pull it off more easily.