This tranquil spot tucked away in Golden Gate Park has been offering oriental-style refreshment to frazzled metropolitans for over a century.
The Japanese Tea Garden dates from the San Francisco World’s Fair of 1894. The temporary exhibit was designed by Japanese landscape gardener Makoto Hagiwara, who encouraged the park superintendent to retain it as a permanent fixture after the fair ended. Hagiwara became its official caretaker and continued in this role until 1925, overseeing the planting of one thousand flowering cherry trees imported from Japan, as well as introducing the famous goldfish which are still one of its best-loved attractions.The two-hectare site contains several of its original features, including the Drum Bridge and the Tea House. Hagiwara’s habit of serving his guests fortune cookies – said to be the first introduction to the US of these crisp, hollow biscuits containing a slip of paper with a fortune prediction – continues to this day. Every Wednesday and Friday morning from mid-March to January, the ancient ritual of the “matcha” (green tea) ceremony is demonstrated by staff dressed in traditional Japanese kimonos.A walk around the peaceful grounds will take you past ornate pagodas and koi ponds, over quaint bridges and through exotic undergrowth. The Zen Garden, built in 1953, is a modern version of the ancient “kare sansui”, a dry garden representing a miniature mountain scene. The Lantern of Peace, symbolising friendship for future generations after the Second World War, was added in the same year.Visitors head for the Japanese Tea Garden at all times of the year to enjoy its unique atmosphere of peace and contemplation. In spring, the garden resembles a Japanese painting as the cherry trees come into blossom, while the changing colour palette of autumn is a magnet for photographers and artists.The Japanese Tea Garden is on the east side of Stow Lake and can be reached by public transport serving Golden Gate Park.
