Oldest Japanese Tea Garden in the United States
After a recent trip to Japan to visit my close friend Aimee, I was very intent on visiting the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. It’s the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States!
We planned our visit on a Friday morning because entry is free to the public from 9-10 AM. While free things are nice, it meant more crowds and an early morning. To fight my exhaustion and to avoid photos with too many tourists, we opted to enjoy some tea and biscuits at the tea house.
I have a little obsession with matcha, so I sipped on a matcha tea while Dean got the sencha green tea. I was excited to learn my tea came with a mochi wagashi filled with bean paste (Dean wasn’t a fan- good, more for me!). The biscuits were ordered mostly because they looked pretty (I’m a sucker for flatlays), but the tea house fortune cookies, sesame cookies, almond cookies and chocolate Pocky Sticks tasted good too!
Fun Fact provided by the Japanese Tea Garden:
The Fortune Cookie Story
According to family members, Mr. Hagiwara introduced fortune cookies to the United States from Japan in the 1890’s or early 1900’s. Initially, the cookies were made on site by hand using a special iron mold or kata. When demand grew, Mr. Hagiwara hired San Francisco confectioner Benkyodo to produce the fortune cookies in large quantities. Original fortune cookies made in Japan were savory rather than sweet, and it is believed that Benkyodo developed a vanilla recipe for Mr. Hagiwara to make it more appealing to Western palates, the flavor that is now widely popular across the U.S. The tradition of serving fortune cookies to Tea Garden visitors continues today; one is tucked inside every bowl of Japanese rice crackers or arare sold at the Tea House.
It was a chilly morning (check out the pink noses), but the tea helped warm us up.
Megan’s Fortune: Now is a good time for you to explore. Take a vacation.
Dean’s Fortune: Soon, someone will make you very proud.
After our teas, we explored the grounds. This bridge was quite popular!
The gardens and structures were extremely well maintained and felt authentic. I definitely recommend a visit.
xo, M
The jacket I wore above was purchased during my travels in Japan. What sorts of souvenirs do you like to buy when traveling? Let me know in the comments!