Japanese Gardens are meant to be a place for quiet reflection and we think they are a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of a nearby city. The Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco is no different as it provides an incredible setting of serenity and beauty. But with so many other attractions in San Francisco, is the Tea Garden worth your time and money?
In this guide we’ll show you exactly what to expect inside the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden including what we liked and didn’t like. It’s a very popular attraction in the city and we want to help you make the most of your visit. Read more about us.
We visited the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden in October 2022 right as the trees were transitioning into their vibrant fall colors. The temperature was perfect and the crowds were minimal so we really enjoyed our trip. But for the best experience, you should visit in late March when the cherry blossom trees explode with billowy pink and white flowers. These blooms last only about two weeks, but symbolize renewal in the Japanese culture.
Since we originally planned a few hours to visit the gardens, we had enough time to take advantage of the free 60 minute walking tour which was worth it. We think Japanese gardens are incredibly beautiful and unique which is why we made the effort to visit on our San Francisco itinerary. It surpassed our expectations and it was much bigger than we expected. Okay, let’s begin!
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What Is The San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden?
When people ask us where our favorite travel destination has been to date, Japan is always one of our answers. We’ve visited several tea gardens in many cities throughout Japan and always find them to be extremely relaxing. So it’s no surprise we always try to explore the Japanese Tea Garden in any city we’re visiting to bring back those wonderful memories.
The San Francisco Tea Garden is the oldest public Japanese garden in North America with an interesting backstory. It offers visitors a chance to experience the beauty of a traditional Japanese style garden without traveling too far. Originally built as part of the World’s Fair for the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894, the tea garden was created as a Japanese Village exhibit.
When the fair ended, the Japanese architect Makoto Hagiwara became the caretaker of the garden. Hagiwara expanded the grounds to its current size of five acres and poured all of his time into creating the perfect garden. As World War II broke out, many Japanese Americans in San Francisco were forced to evacuate their homes and move to internment camps.
Unfortunately, after the war was over, the Hagiwara family was not allowed to return to their home at the tea garden, but the families memory lives on through many pieces spread throughout the grounds. Today, the Japanese Tea Garden is now one of the most popular attractions in San Francisco. It’s made possible by a combination of public and private partnerships between the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society as well as San Francisco Recreation and Parks.
How To Get There
The San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden is nestled with the extremely popular Golden Gate Park. It’s located on Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive between Stow Lake and the de Young Museum. Here’s the official address and a map:
- Address: 75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118
- Location: Google maps
We visited the tea garden along with other popular San Francisco activities in Golden Gate Park. You can easily spend an entire day in this park visiting attractions such as the California Academy of Sciences and the San Francisco Botanical Gardens.
READ: Best things to do in San Francisco
Since the tea garden is located in a beautiful spot within a large green space, street parking is extremely limited. But the good news is there are a few eco-friendly ways you can get to the grounds including various forms of public transportation, the Golden Gate Shuttle, walking or biking. We hired bikes to get to the park then left them locked and parked outside the garden while we visited with no problems.
Several Muni buses and light rails are available to help you access various sections of Golden Gate Park. Once you get to the park, you’ll just have to orientate yourself in the right direction depending on your stop. Here are a few options:
- Muni’s 44 Bus Line (O’Shaughnessy) – Stops right outside the entrance to tea garden
- North Judah Streetcar – Get off at 9th Avenue, walk into the park via 9th, then head right on Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr
- 5 Fulton Bus – Exit at 8th Ave / Fulton St and walk into Golden Gate Park. Turn right onto JFK Ave and continue past the de Young Museum to the tea garden
From Fisherman’s Wharf, take the F-trolley to Market Street, then the North Judah streetcar to 9th Ave. Walk into the park via 9th, then head right on Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr. From Downtown, head to whichever downtown Muni station you are closest to and take the North Judah Streetcar to 9th Ave. Walk into the park via 9th, then head right on Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr.
The Golden Gate Park Shuttle is another great choice because this shuttle operates seven days a week. You should get off at the “de Young/Tea Garden” stop. Here’s the shuttle schedule and operating hours:
- Saturdays, Sundays and holidays: 9:00am – 6:00pm (every 20 mins)
- Monday to Friday: 12:00pm – 6:00pm (every 15 mins)
If you have no other choice but to drive, you might be lucky to find some free street parking within Golden Gate Park or along Fulton Street. But if you can’t find any available spaces, you can opt for paid parking in the Music Concourse Garage underneath the de Young Museum. It has 800 spaces and can be extremely busy on weekends during the summer. For more parking information, visit the official website here. Or if you want to see a detailed list of more transportation options, click here.
Visitor Information
The San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden is open every day of the week beginning at 9:00am, but closing time changes based on season. From March to October, the garden closes at 5:30pm and from November to February, it closes at 4:30pm. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing.
You’ll also need a ticket to enter the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden. They can purchased online from the official website or onsite prior to entry. If you plan to visit in the peak season of spring or summer, we’d recommend booking tickets online to avoid waiting in long lines to purchase tickets.
Travel Tip: Free admission is offered from 9:00am to 10:00am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week. You can reserve tickets for the free hour online prior to visiting.
Visiting Golden Gate Park can be really overwhelming because it’s so big. But booking a tour is a great way to spend a day in San Francisco and it will help introduce you to all the things you can do in the city. Here are top rated options with quick stops or admission to the SF Japanese Tea Garden:
If you want to visit several gardens when you’re in town, the Gardens of Golden Gate Park Pass is another option. It includes entry into the Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden and San Francisco Botanical Garden over 3 days with unlimited visits. You can purchase it here.
What To Do At The SF Japanese Tea Garden
We found there was actually quite a bit to see inside the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden. It’s a place of natural beauty filled with beautiful Japanese maples, cherry trees, twisting pines and clipped azaleas. So the best advice we can give is to plan for plenty of time to enjoy your visit without rushing.
It took us about 2 hours to explore the gardens. This included one hour for the guided walking tour and then another hour to explore the gardens on our own with a quick visit to the Tea House.
Here are a few ideas for your visit:
1. Matcha In The Tea House
One of the most popular attractions in a Japanese Tea Garden is the Tea House and of course, there’s one here for you to enjoy. It’s located almost in the middle of the complex in the same site as the original teahouse built for the Mid-Winter Exposition of 1894.
It’s a popular spot because it features an incredibly picturesque landscape over looking the south-facing pond. This is where many people stop for a break and enjoy a cup of matcha, light snacks and the famous fortune cookies which are still served daily.
Without spoiling the story, Mr. Hagiwara is rumored to have brought the fortune cookie from Japan to the United States in the late 1890’s. Back then in Japan, fortune cookies were savory rather than sweet so it’s believed San Francisco confectioner Benkyodo developed a vanilla recipe for the fortune cookie to appease Western palates. You’ll find a fortune cookies inside every bowl of Japanese rice crackers and you can see the full menu here.
2. Pick Out Your Own Pearl
At the back of a Tea House, there is a very large fish tank filled with many oysters. As we walked by, one of the very nice employees told us a short story about the Japanese pearls inside the tank.
For a small fee (about $20), you can pick the oyster of your choice and watch as it’s pried open in front of your eyes. From here, you can chose a jewelry casing to house the colorful pearl for a unique souvenir. We did not buy a pearl, but we saw many visitors purchasing one.
3. Arched Drum Bridge
The arched drum bridge was one of the highlights from our visit to the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden. It was actually built in Japan, dismantled and then resembled in San Francisco. You’ll find it between the Tea House and the main pond. We highly recommend you try to climb over it because it’s not as easy as it looks!
After speaking with an employee we learned about the significance of its design. As you stand in front of the drum bridge, notice how it reveals a reflection of a full circle or full moon over water. The abruptness in the design is meant to help those entering the garden slow down, putting them in a relaxed state of mind to enjoy a cup of tea. The steep arch serves to help boats pass underneath using a minimal amount of space on land.
4. Take A Free Walking Tour
Prior to visiting the garden, we didn’t know about the free walking tours in the garden and got very lucky with a tour starting just as we entered the grounds. So use our knowledge to make the most of your visit. San Francisco City Guides offer free 60 minute walking tours at 9:30am and 1:00pm almost every day. You can sign up here or join once you enter the garden. As long as you’ve purchased an entry ticket, you can attend the walking tour and prior registration is not required.
Personally, we loved this free tour and learned many fascinating stories about San Francisco and the Tea Garden. Highlights of our tour included the arched drum bridge, stone stepping paths, the Koi Pond and the Zen Garden. We also learned about Japanese landscaping techniques including where to see the flowering cherry trees, magnolias, Japanese maples, pines, cedars and cypress trees. If you don’t know much about Japanese gardens, this is a great tour for you.
5. Serene Koi Pond
A Koi Pond is a traditional feature of Japanese gardens because these fish are sacred in the Japanese culture. Koi represent strength, courage, patience and success as they are known to swim against strong currents. This was a very popular spot during our visit, especially with the kids. There are ample places to sit down and enjoy the scenery which is what we decided to do for a few minutes. It’s such a relaxing place, we wanted to spend the rest of our day here.
You can walk around or through the Koi Pond via a series of stepping stones which play a very integral part in the experience. Unlike traditional straight and narrow garden paths, walking on stepping stones can take a bit more concentration. This style of path encourages visitors to slow down and take in more of their surroundings. Individual stones are meant to help you absorb the garden to its fullest.
6. Dry Landscape Garden
Also known as a Zen Garden, Dry Landscape Gardens have been a large part of the Japanese culture since the 13th century. They traditionally serve to help visitors with mediation showcasing small gravel raked into minimalist patterns to create a sense of peace and restore order.
In addition to the Koi Pond, we thought this was another very relaxing spot in the garden. It’s located all the way in the back of the complex next to the Japanese Cedar Forest and we didn’t see another visitors around. We learned during our walking tour, this Dry Landscape Garden was designed by Nagao Sakurai in 1953 to represent mountains, hills and running water.
7. Five Story Red Pagoda
Originally built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Expo, this stunning 5-story pagoda was meant to represent a Buddhist’s treasure tower. It’s very similar to pagodas you can see all throughout Japan with no details spared. It’s located near the Long Bridge and Temple Gate.
After two years of extensive restorations, the pagoda reopened in April 2022 as a symbol for history lovers and Japanese American community members. There was a special ceremony coordinated by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department to mark the occasion. You can not enter the pagoda, but it’s definitely worth seeing from the outside if you’ve never seen one before.
8. Find A Stone Lantern
In Japan stone lanterns, or Ishidourou, were originally used in Buddhist temples. Lit lanterns were considered an offering to Buddha and often represented teachings to help him overcome the darkness of ignorance.
Stone lanterns have become iconic and now serve to add balance or harmony in any garden. While the lanterns won’t be lit for your visit, you can find many all throughout the Tea Garden. Try to see how many you can find and compare their differences as well as similarities.
9. Gift Shop
Last but not least, the Gift Shop is an interesting place if you’re looking to purchase authentic Japanese items. It’s located above the Tea House on the terrace level in a two-story building.
Inside, you’ll find glazed ceramic bowls, maneki neko figurines, tea and sake sets. Since we already have a lot of Japanese items from our travels, we did not purchase anything in the gift shop.
Our SF Tea Garden Photos
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit the Tea Garden in San Francisco and took a lot of photos. Here are a few of our favorites:
The Morgan Conclusion
What we like: The Tea Garden in San Francisco is the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States which makes it incredibly unique. We thought it was a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy a relaxing afternoon wandering around the beautiful grounds. The free walking tour was also a nice touch and made our visit worth while because we learned so much. If we were SF residents, we’d take advantage of the free admission here all the time.
What we don’t like: A downside to visiting the San Francisco Tea Garden is logistics. It can be difficult to get to the garden because it’s located away from the main attractions downtown. And similar to other gardens like it, we can assume it becomes very crowded in the spring and summer season when the flowers are in full bloom.
Is the SF Tea Garden worth visiting? Yes, we think the San Francisco Tea Garden is worth visiting. The entire complex is filled with rich history and stunning Japanese architecture. We think the price is fair because it must cost a fortune to maintain such a beautiful garden. During our visit, the garden was brimming with both locals and tourists which is always a good sign. The staff were super friendly and we highly recommend the free walking tour if you can fit it into your schedule.
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We hope our guide to visiting the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco helps with planning your trip!
Please let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
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Mark and Kristen spent 6 years traveling the world, visiting over 40 countries across 4 continents and more than 30 US states. They created Where Are Those Morgans in 2018 to help others plan the best possible vacations by writing authentic travel and hiking guides based on their real experiences.
Since the arrival of baby Maya in late 2024, Mark and Kristen’s extensive travels have slowed down but they still take plenty of trips. Where Are Those Morgans now helps millions of travelers each year to visit new places and hike new trails through information-packed blog posts and expert travel guidebooks. Read more about Mark and Kristen.