San Francisco Travelogue - Japanese Tea Gardens 3/2016

After leaving the amazing California Academy of Sciences, we wandered over to wander through the beautiful Japanese Tea Garden.

These historic gardens were first built in 1894 for the World's Fair held in San Francisco and are the oldest operating in the United States.  The truly fascinating story of how the temporary exhibition became the permanent garden is well worth reading.  Wikipedia has a comprehensive article with the history of Makoto Hagiwara and his family and how they and the Japanese Tea Garden were impacted by World War II.

As is frequently the case, the gardens were quite popular and crowded on this Saturday.  But I was still able to capture some beautiful and peaceful pictures. Such as this one looking through one of the many stone lanterns which symbolize the coming together of the five elements in the harmony of nature.

The waterfall seen through the lantern is symbolic of the purest type of cleansing of bad spirits in the Shinto religion.

Speaking of religion, the main Japanese religions of Buddhism, Shintoism, and Taoism are all well represented.

This is the Treasure Tower.  It is a five-tiered Buddhist shrine that was installed in 1915.  It was obtained after the end of that year's Panama-Pacific International Exposition, which was held in what is now the Marina District.  

The shrine was later moved to the site of the Shinto shrine, which was removed due to anti-Japanese sentiment after the war.  The fence that can be seen in the bottom of the photo is a mizugaki, or traditional Shinto picket fence.  It is unusual for a Buddhist shrine to be within the Shinto fence.

Although the site is only 5 acres, it appears to be much bigger and you feel like you can wander in the tranquil woods forever.

The peaceful Zen Garden was a favorite of mine.

Three main components in Japanese gardens are trees, water, and rocks.  Obviously, this garden has all of these and they are designed to bring a sense of calm and peace to those observing them.  

The large, ornamental gates seen in the photo below were also obtained by Mr. Hagiwara from the Pan-Pacific Expo. 

March is one of the best times to visit this beautiful place.  
Not only are the California blossoms in full bloom...

...but the magnificent cherry blossoms are in full bloom as well!  

The lower part of the Gardens are filled with beautiful water features with koi, flat stepping stones, and statuary.  

From this lower vantage point one can look up and see the pagodas standing tall amongst red and green foliage on the hillside.  If you look closely to the lower right, you can see another cleansing waterfall. 

This tree was very cool, leaning over one of the ponds.  I have a hard time believing its "lean" is intentional, but everything is so planned and well-placed that it may well be.  

One of the most eye-catching items in a garden full of them, is the Drum Bridge.  Designed to slow foot traffic, these extremely arched bridges reflect a circle in the water below, which, coupled with the design of the railing, looks like a drum.  

As expected, the architecture and details in the structures are as beautiful and important as the placement of the rocks, trees, and water.   

Well worth a closer look...

Such a visually stunning experience and so very peaceful, even with the crowds of people.  Definitely a must-visit when you are in Golden Gate Park.  I hope you've enjoyed this peak at the Japanese Tea Gardens in Spring!  

xoxo

Nikon D3000

Birthday Butterflies, Toads, & Jelly at California Academy of Sciences San Francisco 3/16

Turning the big 5-0 is not something I have dreaded or had any sort of mid-life crisis about.  I mean...I do feel hella old now.  Which is completely new to me since I've never felt old before, but I'm going to blame that more on what a rough year this one has been and the health problems I've had rather than just...you know...being old.

But just as turning 50 wasn't really something to fear, I really didn't want to exactly CELEBRATE it either!  I'm sure you know what I mean.  lol  So when my daughter and sister asked what I was planning for my birthday, I said that I would love to go to San Francisco while Adrienne was home on Spring Break.  I wanted to visit a museum and/or do something outdoors (of course).

We settled on the amazing California Academy of Sciences which fits both bills.  Adrienne and I had never been, but Rose had so she acted as our tour guide.  First thing we saw walking in the entry is a gigantic T-Rex skeleton.

I was so excited to get to the Rainforest, but there were many cool things to see on the way.  A fan favorite at every aquarium caught our attention and we made out way to a clear pool filled with rays and sharks.

If you're into amphibians, CalAcademy is the place for you!

They have various terrariums and aquariums set up here and there so there is always something fascinating and beautiful to see.

After oooing and aaahing at the various species, we finally entered the Rainforest.  The difference in atmosphere is felt immediately.  The air is much hotter and very humid of course.  You really get the sense of being under a rainforest canopy as you enter at ground level.  Your senses are alight with visions of butterflies, songs of birds, and the smell of plants and water.

Much to my disappointment, it was hard to get a clear picture of the birds flitting in the trees.

The beautiful bromeliads were another story, making brilliant splashes of color against a background of green.

As did the gorgeous and varied butterflies!

Looking down from the pathways of the rainforest, you can see into the aquarium below with it's wild-looking creatures.

Look out for butterflies!!

Once you reach the top of the rainforest, there are more terrariums with cool creatures.

When you're ready to depart, you must check yourself carefully for any hitchhiking butterflies and then board the elevator which stops only at the bottom.  The mirrored walls assist you with further checks for wannabe escapees; once you're all clear, you exit the room and step right into the  underwater beauty of the deep ocean.

There you tour the California coast and all it's creatures.  Of course there is a wonderful hands-on tidepool exhibit where I couldn't resist spending some time learning about the amazing creatures.

And of course, there are jellyfish.  I love jellies.  This is the beautiful Man O' War.

And I believe these are Moon jellyfish.

I stood and watched this tank for quite awhile.  It's so soothing. I could seriously spend all day watching these.

We made our way back upstairs (with a brief stop to look at the top of the lagoons)

And a stop in the Naturalist Center where Adrienne and I had a wonderful chat with a curator about nature birds and Rose made a paper butterfly. 

Then we hit the living rooftop.  This is the DeYoung Museum which sits just across the street. 

Then, it was time for out last stop of the day... The African Hall to watch their colony of African Penguins at feeding time.  They are adorable and amazing. 

All in all, it was a wonderful and education time spent with family.  I would highly recommend this museum and will definitely be returning there in the future!

xoxo

Nikon D3000