Japanese gardens don't just happen. They are designed, executed and maintained to create beautiful and serene results. There are several in the Bay Area, each with its own personality. Hakone Gardens in upscale Saratoga, built in 1917, is the largest (7 acres). Not only is it a sanso (country villa) residential garden, it's home to one of the few bamboo groves in the country and the largest public collection of camellias (abloom in winter) in Santa Clara County.

Jack Tomlinson, Japanese garden specialist, has been at Hakone for 25 years. He explains that "Japanese gardens are multileveled. Stones and mountains are the bones of the garden. Trees and shrubbery are the flesh. The soul and blood is the pond."

The nonprofit Hakone Foundation oversees the park, which includes original houses. One is a teahouse, used for weddings and ceremonies; another is a Cultural Exchange Center. Each month Hakone offers an authentic Japanese tea ceremony for an admission price of $5. Art and other cultural classes are offered throughout the year.

The entrance to Hayward's Japanese Garden is a long, straight walkway lined with manicured plantings. Noted landscape architect Kimio Kimura, who designed this 1.3-acre garden in 1979, explains that shaping is beneficial.

"Otherwise," he says, "plants become overgrown and compete for sunlight."

On the second Saturday of each month, he gives a free class on designing and maintaining Japanese gardens.

The Hayward Area Recreation and Park District oversees the park, which has a nice variety of plants, including Japanese maples, olive trees, firs, Grecian laurel and holly. Stray cats frolic through the attractive garden, warily watching passersby. Kimura would like to introduce additional colorful flowers but local deer find them irresistibly tasty.

San Mateo's enchanting Japanese Garden is a spot of welcome serenity in the middle of downtown. Waterfalls mask traffic sounds. Although only 1.3 acres, it gives a feeling of spaciousness.

Thirty-seven years ago, Japanese community volunteers and personnel from the San Mateo City Parks and Recreation Department (which oversees the park today) built the park. Sam Fukudome was one of those volunteers, and today he is the sole gardener and curator.

A five-tier granite pagoda, donated by San Mateo sister city Toyonaka, is the focal point as you enter. A series of wide paved walks and narrow pathways lead through the park. Narrow paths and cobblestoned areas are designed to slow visitors down and encourage them to look around and contemplate. A small gazebo with an overlook map highlights locations of some of the more than 80 different plant species. The teahouse can be rented for special occasions.

Tony Zumba, senior parks and landscape worker, explains, "This park is traditional style, where water and rocks are the focal point. Many people have said this is the best Japanese garden in the area."

Visitors especially enjoy the park in December, when the Japanese maples turn ruby red and add a fiery hue to the surroundings.

Oakland has both a Japanese garden of less than an acre and a larger bonsai garden in Lake Merritt's Lakeside Park. The Japanese garden was funded, designed and built by the Japanese-American community in 1959.

Owned by the city of Oakland, it is maintained by volunteers Richard Austin and Bill Castellon, aided by the Merritt College Pruning Club. "The heart of a Japanese garden is that it reflects nature," says Austin. "This garden shows what you can build in a small space. This is primarily a viewing garden, not a strolling garden."

The nearby bonsai garden, created in 1999, is the only public bonsai collection in Northern California, and was built and maintained by volunteers of the Golden State Bonsai Federation and the City of Oakland.

San Francisco's Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park is the oldest and best known in the country. Created for the Midwinter Fair of 1894, the approximately 4-acre garden houses pagodas, waterfalls, meandering paved walkways, a steep wooden bridge and a large bronze Buddha that was presented to the park in 1949 by Gump's.

The Zen Garden within this park is a good example of a dry garden, where the waterfall is stone and the pond is gravel.

These lovely gardens are yours to enjoy. If you want to create your own, visit online at www.jgarden.org.

Where to find Japanese tea gardens:
Hakone Gardens
21000 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, California
(408) 741-4977
www.hakone.com
Open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekends
Free admission
$7 parking

Hayward Gardens
22373 N. Third Street
at Crescent Avenue next to the Hayward Senior Center
(510) 881-6715
Open 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. year round
Free admission and parking

San Mateo Gardens
50 E. Fifth Avenue
at Laurel Avenue, in Central Park
(650) 522-7420
www.ci.sanmateo.ca.us/dept/parks
Open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekdays
11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekends
Free admission
Metered or free parking on streets

San Francisco Golden Gate Park
(415) 831-2700
Open daily 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Winter
8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Summer
$3.50 adults
$1.25 children and seniors
Admission is free the first and last hours

Oakland Gardens
inside Lakeside Park within Lake Merritt
666 Bellevue Avenue, Oakland, California 94610
Oakland Japanese Gardens
(510) 523-0954
Open daily 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Free admission
Parking $2 on weekends

Oakland Bonsai Garden
(510) 763-8409
Open 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday, 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. Sunday
Donations accepted in lieu of admission fee.
www.gsbf-bonsai.org/collectionnorth

The Oakland Tribune: Bay Area Living
Kari Hulac, Features Editor
(925) 416-4856
(925) 416-4874## Fax
khulac@angnewspapers.com Email