A Tour of the Japanese Tea Garden
On Wednesday afternoon, my family and I visited the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park in San Fransisco.
We joined a free tour. The tour guide, Eric, explained the history of the Japanese Tea Garden, originally built as part of the World’s Fair in 1894.
He explained that the Monterey Cypress has many different shapes and sizes. Through tree candling, the lights can pass through the tree, making it more beautiful.
In Japanese culture, turtles and cranes represent longevity. There are many drawings of turtles and cranes on the door beam and pagoda. I even touched a turtle sculpture inside the basin.
Eric also talked about the Buddha sculpture donated by an antique shop in San Fransisco.
On the Buddha’s head, there are many short and tight ringlets. All the monks are bald heads. Why Buddha has ringlets? The ringlets represent 108 snails protecting Buddha’s head from sunburn when he meditates.
Another exciting thing is the five-floor pagoda. It’s so eye-catching. But it’s made of wood, and it needs to repair periodically. It’s reopened recently to the public after two and half years of repair.
My favorite scenes were the koi, dry garden, pond, and waterfalls because they gave me peace of mind.
After the tour, Eric asked for donations. We gave him some money for support.
Then, we went to the tea garden cafe to buy snacks and drinks. I ate mochi with red bean filling and drank hot roasted Genmaicha and barley-flavored iced tea.
It was very relaxing walking around the garden, and I also learned a lot from the tour guide.
You caught the spirit of the Japanese Tea Garden: serenity and pleasure. Keep writing, I love it.
ReplyDeleteI also learned something new from reading your blog today. I never thought about whether the Buddha was bald or not. But now that I think about it, it is true that most monks shave their heads. It is an interesting story that the snails protected the Buddha so that he wouldn't get sunburned.
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