The Splendid Beauty of San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden
Celebrate today’s summer solstice with photos from San Francisco’s exquisite Japanese Tea Garden. It’s the oldest public Japanese garden in the country, and one of many wonders of Golden Gate Park. Dave and I went there recently after we were fully vaccinated. We hadn’t been in years, and we really enjoyed visiting again. It features lots of greenery, lanterns, pagodas, winding paths, ponds, a Zen garden, and a tea house. There are numerous Japanese native plants, but I didn’t spot any orchids.
Wandering through the garden, there’s so much to discover. The elegant design provides alluring sights around every curve. Exquisitely maintained plants are each a work of art, with beauty in both their large forms and their small details. Somehow the old, large koi don’t get eaten by the park’s many raccoons or herons. The Drum Bridge, with its semi-circular arch, is fun to climb for kids and adults alike. Immersed in the garden’s charms, visitors may forget that the busy city is nearby.
There’s plenty of fascinating history to the Japanese Tea Garden. It began in 1894 as an exhibit in an international fair. Afterwards, it was made permanent and expanded to about 5 acres (2 hectares.) Landscape architect Makoto Hagiwara and his family were its caretakers for decades, and they lived on the grounds. Sadly, they lost their home and were interned with other Japanese Americans during World War II. Fortunately, their beloved garden continues to thrive, and is one of the park’s most popular attractions. Besides the garden, Mr. Hagiwara is famous as one of the inventors of the modern fortune cookie. The first fortune cookie presses are on display inside the gift shop (shown in the final photo.)
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