Japanese Tea Garden

San Francisco’s first Japanese Tea Garden was originally developed by art-dealer George Turner Marsh as part of the 1894 Midwinter Fair, an event that brought the City by the Bay into the international limelight. About 1 acre (40 are) in size, this garden was intended only for the exposition – as were many of Golden Gate Park’s other structures – and was to be dismantled after the fair.

In steps one of San Francisco’s most prominent Japanese citizens, Baron Makoto Hagiwara, a wealthy landscape designer who asked the city if he could make the garden permanent. They agreed. Hagiwara devised a traditional design not unlike the gardens in his native country and turned the small garden into a five-acre (2 hectare) permanent exhibit complete with exotic animals, statues, and other structures important to the make-up of a classic Japanese garden.

The garden was maintained by Hagiwara and his descendants until World War II, at which time the landscaper’s family was moved to one of the many interment camps built to house Japanese-Americans during the turbulent war years. During that era, the garden became known as the Oriental Tea Garden.

In 1952, the original name was restored and so was the garden, which had fallen into ruin during the absence of the Hagiwara family. Today, it is an important and much-visited part of the Golden Gate Park and attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year.

In Japan, gardens are considered the highest form of art and great thought was put into the design of this garden. With winding paths, a number of water features, bridges, and – of course – plants and trees, the garden promotes a feeling of tranquility and, indeed, many locals go there to relax and collect their thoughts.

The main pond is surrounded by dwarf trees and a magnificent Buddha sits near the Long Bridge. The Sunken Gardens are adorned with stone lanterns and rhododendron and the Zen Garden – a dry landscape – is a miniature mountain scene with stone waterfall and white gravel river.

A colorful pagoda sits in the center of the garden near the Temple Gate, surrounded by a traditional rock garden, and the Tea House beckons guests to come and enjoy a quiet moment and a warm beverage. (By the way, fortune cookies became popular here!)

A gift shop, surrounded by beautiful wisteria and cherry trees, offers Japanese gifts and works of art.