peace and quiet in the Japanese tea garden

Not with Anna and Vernon, however! Yes, we went to the Golden Gate Park to visit Japan! But actually, this Japanese tea garden is the oldest public Japanese garden in the US. Apparently, it was established in 1894 during the California Midwinter International Exposition. 

There's a tea house inside the garden but we opted to eat somewhere warmer so we decided not to try it. In front of the tea house, there was a pond with a small waterfall. It was a relaxing way to welcome people into one of the most tranquil places in the park. It reminded me of the gardens I visited outside Tokyo while viewing cherry blossoms.

While walking along the winding path, I noticed an arched bridge. I've never seen one like this in Japan and I wasn't even sure if it's something people would normally use. Perhaps, it was installed for aesthetic purposes.

But that didn't stop us from climbing it. It was steep as it looked, no optical illusion there, so we had to keep a strong grip on the handrail and good balance on our way up and down.

The ascent, however, was worth it. We were able to see the park from a slightly different perspective. 

Further down the path, there was a red pagoda that reminded me of Tokyo's Sensō-ji Temple because of the curved roofs.

There also was a bronze statue of Buddha. According to a San Francisco Chronicle article, it was installed in the park in 1949 as a gift from the Gump family, a prominent family in San Francisco. At that time, it was already about 150 years old. That makes that statue nearly 230 years old.

For people who live the daily hustle that is San Francisco, a short trip here can help them find some peace and quiet. For tourists, like us (yes, people from the East Bay are still tourists here), the garden is a cause of excitement because we see an example of how other cultures have enriched such a cosmopolitan city.