Heading to a new city typically means trying to achieve maximum tourist status by seeing all of the key highlights of the city. On our last visit to San Francisco we tried to do exactly that by killing two birds with one stone. We hired some bikes and made our way over to the Golden Gate Park to do a little exploring.
Much like Central Park in New York City the Golden Gate Park is full of things to do and see including several lakes, monuments and even an athletics track. One thing that really stuck out to us as being worth a visit however was the Japanese Garden. At $12 this seemed well worth it so we chained up the bikes and walked in to take a look.
Once through the entrance it couldn’t be any more obvious that you are in a Japanese inspired space. Despite there being other tourists around the garden offers a great sense of calm and tranquillity.
The creation of the garden has been done extremely well with numerous paths to explore that meander around ponds, wooden structures and over several bridges.
As you wander around the garden you will discover miniature bonsai trees, koi carp, chimes and Japanese architecture with every turn.
With the exception of one or two wooden constructions the garden has been very well maintained.
The Japanese garden in the Golden Gate Park was a really great place to head to and whether you are on your own, as a couple or with kids, would be an entertaining way to while away an hour of your day. You can also grab yourself a bite to eat and drink in small cafe so it’s also a great place to rest up if you’ve been walking around other areas of the park.
We explored the Japanese garden for just over an hour and certainly didn’t run out of things to look at so if you’re heading to San Francisco this year make sure you drop in and take a look around.
Are you heading to San Francisco this year? We’d love to hear your plans, let us know in the comments!
