Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park – A Must See for Visitors

Whenever I read about San Francisco, the Japanese Garden in the Golden Gate Park is always mentioned in the same breath.

 We were in San Francisco in 1995 but we did not visit the Japanese Garden nor the Golden Gate Park due to the issue of time constraint. We thought a park was just a park. There would be a lot of trees and green space.

We have many beautiful parks in Canada and I go to  Central Park every time I am in New York. Why would I visit a park when I am in San Fransisco?  

I was very wrong! The Golden Gate Park is a a beautiful park with magnificent architecture. We got off the bus at the 10th Street entrance.

The Golden Gate Park is a big place and there are lots of things to see. We could have easily spent a whole day here taking our time to enjoy the natural beauty of this place and visiting some of the buildings within the park.

Unfortunately, due to other commitments,  we only had a couple of hours therefore we could only visit one place in the park.

We decided on the Japanese Garden simply because I heard so much about it.

There was  no charge going into the park. However, there was an admission charge of U.S.$ 7.00 for an adult for the Japanese Garden.

( If we had gone there on Mondays. Wednesdays or Fridays, it would have been free admission. A lot of savings for a family of 4 people!)

We were not disappointed!

Once inside the Japanese Garden, we felt as we were transported to a country somewhere in Asia far away.

Cherry blossoms were in full blooms.

While colourful pagodas were placed here and there in various parts of the garden; clusters of emerald green bamboo trees waved their slender leaves forming a perfect  backdrop for exotic flowers,  plants and shrubs.

















Small wooden and stone bridges placed strategically leading visitors to go carefully down the stony paths to explore the garden further.

Orangy gold fish swimming around lazily in the ponds along the garden paths.

Carefully manicured and meticulously trimmed dwarf  trees made us wonder how much work and labour of love are needed to maintain this lovely tranquil garden.    

An open Asian style wooden tea house is a welcome sight for the tired and thirty visitors who could order food and drinks and rest under its roof or play a board game or two on the patio tables.

Visitors could order food and choose from an assorted array of Japanese tea from the menu.

We had miso soup sandwiches, Japanese dessert and  green tea. It was delicious!

We wished we could have spent more time at the Golden Gate Park, but the visit to the Japanese Garden was definitely worth the time of getting there.

The Golden Gate Park is a must to see in San Francisco!

R.T.
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco