Japanese Tea Garden Stroll
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Japanese Tea Garden, 75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., San Francisco, CA 94118
Starting Point: Entrance gate of the Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park, near the de Young Museum, the San Francisco Botanical Garden, and the Music Concourse Bandstand.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Japanese Tea Garden San Francisco info link (Gardens of Golden Gate Park):
https://gggp.org/japanese-tea-garden/
Japanese Tea Garden San Francisco info link:
https://www.japaneseteagardensf.com
Visit info link with map:
https://www.japaneseteagardensf.com/vist
Japanese Tea Garden info link:
https://sfjapaneseteagarden.org/
Golden Gate Park info link (San Francisco Recreation and Park):
https://sfrecpark.org/parks-open-spaces/golden-gate-park-guide/
Distance:
Strolling through the Japanese Tea Garden itself is not a matter of long distances. There are stone paths for crossing ponds, stairways up and down, and a steep wooden bridge to climb over to add to the variety of the walking experience. It is also possible to build a long walk into a visit to the Tea Garden by taking a long path through Golden Gate Park to get there. See info links above for maps and ideas of expanding your walking distance for your Tea Garden visit.
Considerations:
• There is an entry fee for the Japanese Tea Garden, but residents of San Francisco residents who show an ID get in for free.
• Check info links for hours.
• Toilet facilities are available within the Japanese Tea Garden grounds as well as at the nearby Bandstand/Music Concourse.
• This is a popular weekend visiting space, especially during cherry blossom season. The “quiet Zen moment” may be elusive in the crowds, but the blossoms are still pretty.
• There are many public transportation options for getting to Golden Gate Park, for those who don’t wish to deal with parking.
• Some roads in this part of Golden Gate Park are closed to traffic. Check online for Golden Gate Park road closures.
• There is a gift shop and a tea house offering refreshments on the garden grounds.
The trail:
The entrance to the Japanese Tea Garden is across from the back area of the Music Concourse/Bandstand, midway between the de Young Museum and the San Francisco Botanical Garden. The entryway leads through a traditional wooden Japanese gate structure which sets the tone for the garden visit.
Some would-be visitors are surprised to find there is a fee, and decide to walk around the outside of tea garden grounds rather than visit inside. Readers of this post will arrive knowing they pay for entry at the stand to the right through the gate.
You can meander in any direction you wish. To the right leads to a bamboo area and toilet facilities. Straight ahead gives a broad view of decorative trees and the tea house, which is not a straight walk forward but is reached by various path options.
Our natural inclination, however, is to start out walking toward the left. There is a large, arched wooden bridge that is fun to climb over, and great to try coordination skills on. The stone pathways in that area lead across and around ponds with colorful koi fish. Cherry blossoms brighten the gardens especially at this southern end in March and April. We try to maximize our walking distance by taking the outermost path around the site.
There are steps from various directions leading to the hilltop with colorful pagoda and gate structures. Back paths from there lead past a rock garden and moss covered tree area. There are paths above a pond, silly but fun photo-op stands at one spot, and a lovely wisteria display in the right season.
There is a gift shop and tea house for those who are interested, but you can also just enjoy walking. The outer loop leads past a patch of bamboo, which means you are near the toilet facilities, and also heading back toward the entry/exit area. There is no time limit other than the closing time, so wandering up and around paths you missed on the first loop is always an option.
(Japanese Tea Garden Stroll Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Quieting the Mind” Insights post.)
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Japanese Tea Garden, 75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., San Francisco, CA 94118
Starting Point: Entrance gate of the Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park, near the de Young Museum, the San Francisco Botanical Garden, and the Music Concourse Bandstand.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Japanese Tea Garden San Francisco info link (Gardens of Golden Gate Park):
https://gggp.org/japanese-tea-garden/
Japanese Tea Garden San Francisco info link:
https://www.japaneseteagardensf.com
Visit info link with map:
https://www.japaneseteagardensf.com/vist
Japanese Tea Garden info link:
https://sfjapaneseteagarden.org/
Golden Gate Park info link (San Francisco Recreation and Park):
https://sfrecpark.org/parks-open-spaces/golden-gate-park-guide/
Distance:
Strolling through the Japanese Tea Garden itself is not a matter of long distances. There are stone paths for crossing ponds, stairways up and down, and a steep wooden bridge to climb over to add to the variety of the walking experience. It is also possible to build a long walk into a visit to the Tea Garden by taking a long path through Golden Gate Park to get there. See info links above for maps and ideas of expanding your walking distance for your Tea Garden visit.
Considerations:
• There is an entry fee for the Japanese Tea Garden, but residents of San Francisco residents who show an ID get in for free.
• Check info links for hours.
• Toilet facilities are available within the Japanese Tea Garden grounds as well as at the nearby Bandstand/Music Concourse.
• This is a popular weekend visiting space, especially during cherry blossom season. The “quiet Zen moment” may be elusive in the crowds, but the blossoms are still pretty.
• There are many public transportation options for getting to Golden Gate Park, for those who don’t wish to deal with parking.
• Some roads in this part of Golden Gate Park are closed to traffic. Check online for Golden Gate Park road closures.
• There is a gift shop and a tea house offering refreshments on the garden grounds.
The trail:
The entrance to the Japanese Tea Garden is across from the back area of the Music Concourse/Bandstand, midway between the de Young Museum and the San Francisco Botanical Garden. The entryway leads through a traditional wooden Japanese gate structure which sets the tone for the garden visit.
Some would-be visitors are surprised to find there is a fee, and decide to walk around the outside of tea garden grounds rather than visit inside. Readers of this post will arrive knowing they pay for entry at the stand to the right through the gate.
You can meander in any direction you wish. To the right leads to a bamboo area and toilet facilities. Straight ahead gives a broad view of decorative trees and the tea house, which is not a straight walk forward but is reached by various path options.
Our natural inclination, however, is to start out walking toward the left. There is a large, arched wooden bridge that is fun to climb over, and great to try coordination skills on. The stone pathways in that area lead across and around ponds with colorful koi fish. Cherry blossoms brighten the gardens especially at this southern end in March and April. We try to maximize our walking distance by taking the outermost path around the site.
There are steps from various directions leading to the hilltop with colorful pagoda and gate structures. Back paths from there lead past a rock garden and moss covered tree area. There are paths above a pond, silly but fun photo-op stands at one spot, and a lovely wisteria display in the right season.
There is a gift shop and tea house for those who are interested, but you can also just enjoy walking. The outer loop leads past a patch of bamboo, which means you are near the toilet facilities, and also heading back toward the entry/exit area. There is no time limit other than the closing time, so wandering up and around paths you missed on the first loop is always an option.
(Japanese Tea Garden Stroll Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Quieting the Mind” Insights post.)
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
