The Japanese Tea Garden in San Antonio provides a beautiful enclave of nature away from the bustling city.
Sargent Martinez with the park police said that he can tell when the military bases are having graduation ceremonies because the garden fills with well-dressed visitors taking family photos.
Usually Thursdays through Sundays are the busiest, but the park thins out late in the afternoon. Mondays and Tuesdays are the best, Sgt. Martinez said.
Built in a former quarry, visitors enter through a large rock structure overlooking the koi ponds and flower gardens. A pathway leads into the valley where arched bridges cross the ponds, winds around to a 60-foot waterfall, and then climbs up the rock wall to a magnificent view of the 11-acre sunken garden.
The Asian-inspired garden began as a limestone quarry for a cement company. Abandoned by 1916, it was part of a gift to the city by George Brackenridge that now includes the San Antonio Zoo, a golf course, and Brackenridge Park.
The pit was turned into a garden between 1917 and 1918 using inmate labor. Eizo “Kimi” Jingu managed the park from 1919 to 1942, when he and his family were evicted because of anti-Japanese racism after Pearl Harbor. The Jingus had opened a restaurant and tea room that is still operational.
During World War II the name of the park was changed to reflect the anti-Japanese sentiment. Artist Dionicio Rodriguez, who fashioned structures using a cement technique that imitates wood, built the Torii Gate that still reads “Chinese Tea Garden.” The name was changed back to its original in 1984.
The Japanese Tea Garden is at 3853 N. St. Mary St. in Brackenridge Park not far from the San Antonio Zoo. Visiting the park between 7am to 5pm has always been free. The Jingu House opens weekdays for lunch and dinner, and weekends for brunch.
1,728th in a series. Everywhere is a day trip from somewhere: Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, ataustinchronicle.com/daily/travel.
This article appears in November 8 • 2024.
