San Francisco's Japanese Tea
Garden was originally developed for the 1894 World’s Fair in San Francisco. It
was conceived and designed by Baron Makoto Hagiwara, a wealthy landscape
designer. As Golden Gate Park began to develop, Hagiwara worked the once
temporary exhibit into a permanent feature. Hagiwara and his family then
increased the size of the gardens, and imported exotic animals and statues.
Hagiwara’s descendents
maintained the Japanese Tea Garden until the start of the second world war. At
the time, America went to war with Japan, and had begun sending anyone of
Asian descent into temporary internment camps. Without the Hagiwara family,
the Japanese Tea Garden was not kept and fell into ruin.
During this time, it was
renamed the Oriental Tea Garden. It was eventually reinstated as the Japanese
Tea Garden in 1952, with more exhibits, including a 9,000 pound Lantern of
Peace. It was in the Japanese Tea Garden where Fortune Cookies originated, and
soon became increasingly popular. The Garden has now grown into a landmark of
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Five Reasons
to visit The Japanese Tea Garden
1. You can pretend that
you’re in a Martial Arts Film.
The Japanese Tea Gardens of
Golden Gate Park were designed to have a very
romanticized look of a traditional Japanese garden. As a result, entering the
Garden is like stepping into the world that you see in Asian paintings. It is
also bears a strong resemblance to the backgrounds of most Martial Arts
movies. It made me wish that I had a samurai sword and a dozen ninjas were
attacking me.
2. Tranquility
Did you ever read The
Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett? In that book, the main character
Mary discovers a key that opens a door to a hidden garden. The Japanese Tea
Garden is also a fenced-off world that exists both inside and outside the
hustle and bustle of life. Like Mary, I was able to find temporary sanctuary
from whatever problems I was facing and just enjoy a life filled with all
things natural.
Unlike most San Francisco
recreation areas, the Japanese Tea Garden is not teeming with loud tourists
and useless guided tours. Hundreds of people can visit the Garden and still
have some degree of personal space. Personally, I think there is something
about this place that just takes the loudness out of people. It is a peaceful
place, and there is a lot to see. About the only sound you hear are the
cameras clicking.
3. Flora and Fauna
Apparently, the Japanese
believe that gardens are a high form of art. If that is true, then the
“artist” of this garden chose an especially interesting medium of cherry
trees, bonsai trees, and azaleas. Some of the bushes have been cut to make
interesting forms, such as Mount Fuji and a dragon. This may sound like a
tacky Disneylandish tactic to woo tourists into taking more pictures (and then
pay expensive prices for film at the gift shop), but it doesn’t come off this
way. Even though the Japanese Tea Garden needs full-time landscape
maintenance, it is constructed to maintain a great degree of natural beauty.
Not only do the gardens have such beautiful plants, but they also house many
interesting animals as well. Every pond you pass (and there are many), you
will find teeming with koi fish, and there are also many exotic birds.
Consider a beautiful bouquet of
flowers for your family when you return to your room after a beautiful
day...
4. Fortune Cookies
In case you don’t know,
Fortune Cookies are about as Asian as spaghetti is Italian. Apparently, the
builders of this garden, the Hagiwara family, first served them at the
Japanese Tea Garden. You can still buy them at the Tea Shop, and I got one
that read: “You were an idiot for believing that Fortune Cookies are from
China”. Okay, I made that one up, but I think my lucky numbers were 4, 8, 15,
16, 23, 42, which are the pivotal numbers on the TV show Lost. Or I
could just be an avid Lost fan.
5. The Drum Bridge
It’s called the Drum Bridge
because it looks like someone cut a large drum in half and used it as a
bridge. The end result is something that looks beautiful, terribly
impractical. The slope of the bridge is so steep that you have to literally
climb it. Fortunately, it has footholds on it, otherwise you would need a pair
of cleats. Still, once you get up to the top, be sure to have someone take
your picture. While you’re at it, waste your film on everything else as well.
By: Mark Rollins, Copyright SFTRAVEL LLC
