Hakone Gardens - Saratoga - Things To Do Reviews

Several TravBuddy members have already done blogs and reviews on this very nice Japanese Gardens. We just happened to be there on a record setting day. It was raining. Did that a difference to me or my wife.? Not one bit. We just opened our umbrella and even accepted the use of one that they offered. We strolled thru, taking our time to snap many wonderful pictures at the outstanding gardens. There are four sections, The Hill and Pond Garden, The Tea Garden, The Zen Garden, and Kizuna-en (Bamboo) Garden, and each is well kept, neatly manicured, and treated with the respect it needs. If you enjoy serene, beautiful, Japanese Gardens, this is surely one not to miss if you are in the area. There is a small fee to enter the gardens (see the internet site for prices ) and you purchase the entry coin in the gift shop which has many wonderful items available. There was no charge for parking.

As far as I know, there is no charge besides parking, which is like $4,
cheaper for students/seniors. If you don't even want to pay that much,
you can always just park at the bottom of the hill and walk up. Hakone
is I think the largest, oldest Japanese garden in the western
hemisphere. This place is absolutely gorgeous, with a koi pond, a
bamboo garden, and plenty of historic buildings. Classes teach students
how to do ikebana or hold tea ceremonies in these "houses." Weddings
and festivals are often held in the gardens, the perfect backdrop for
any event. A part of the movie Memoirs of a Geisha
was filmed here as well. Don't forget to visit the gift shop, where you
can buy anything from a kimono to origami paper to instructional books
on drawing anime characters. Lastly, the staff there is super-nice (I
would know; I used to volunteer there).