Hakone Gardens

Hakone Gardens is a traditional Japanese garden in Saratoga, California, USA. It claims to be the oldest Japanese-style residential garden in the Western Hemisphere. Notable features include a bamboo garden, a Zen garden, a strolling garden (the Hill and Pond Garden), tea houses, and the Cultural Exchange Center, a replica of a 19th century Japanese home and storefront.

History

In 1916, two San Francisco arts patrons, Oliver and Isabel Stine, intending to build a summer retreat, purchased the convert|18|acre|m2 site on which Hakone now stands. Inspired by her trips to Japan, Isabel Stine modeled the gardens upon (and named them after) Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. She hired Japanese landscape artists and architects to design the gardens and the Upper "Moon Viewing" House. More buildings were added in later years by Stine and by subsequent owners.

In 1966, the City of Saratoga purchased Hakone Gardens, then in disrepair, in order to protect it. The Hakone Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established in 1984 to restore and enhance the gardens independently of public funding. The gardens are open to the public and the various community facilities are often used for cultural events.

Film History

Hakone Gardens was a filming location for the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" (2005). [cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397535/locations|title=Filming locations for Memoirs of a Geisha|publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=2008-02-15]

References

ee also

* List of botanical gardens in the United States

External links

* [http://www.hakone.com Hakone Gardens official web site]