Splashes of fall-color at Hakone Gardens

Visit a Japanese Garden once and you’ve visited them all. But thereโ€™s no getting tired of them. The look of a Japanese Garden and the feeling that takes over...

Hakone Gardens, Saratoga - California

Visit a Japanese Garden once and you’ve visited them all. But thereโ€™s no getting tired of them. The look of a Japanese Garden and the feeling that takes over you once you are inside one of these gardens is like nothing else. They are landscaped to fill you with calmness and the plants and trees they have in there are meant to be a treat to your eyes. Visit in the Spring and youโ€™ll see their signature Cherry Blossoms. Walk in on a fall day and be delighted with the fall foliage of the garden. Our visit to Hakone Gardens in Saratoga was just to do that โ€” to catch some fall color.

If itโ€™s fall, look for a Japanese Garden near you to treat you to some colors-of-autumn. These gardens are carefully designed to feature all the seasons of the year, so there will be no disappointment there. We visited Hakone Gardens towards the end of October but it turned out it wasnโ€™t peak season for the autumnal colors. But the garden had splashes of fall color all around and it was absolutely pleasing to the eye.

Hakone Gardens in the Fall

Fall color at Hakone Japanese Garden in Saratoga, CA

Hakone Gardens, Saratoga - California

Fall color at Hakone Japanese Garden in Saratoga, CA

Fall color at Hakone Japanese Garden in Saratoga, CA

Fall color at Hakone Japanese Garden in Saratoga, CA

Fall color at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, CA

Fall color at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, CA

Fall color at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, CA

Hakone Gardens in the fall

Hakone Gardens in the fall

Like other Japanese Gardens, Hakone Gardens too has a placid pool with Koi (fish) in them, an arched bridge, waterfall, stone lanterns, dry oceans and a tea house.

This one also has a small Bamboo Forest on one end of it and itโ€™s a beautiful little corner. I would have liked to see more Bamboo there, though. There seemed to be some more room for those tall grasses.

Talking of โ€˜small, let me tell you that this Japanese Garden seemed to be much smaller than the others Iโ€™ve visited. This is when I tell you that Hakone Gardens was once private property. It belonged to a non-Japanese couple that had an affinity for Japanese landscaping. After changing hands a few times, the garden came to be owned by the City of Saratoga. And some years back the city felt Hakone Gardens should have a foundation of its own to maintain and preserve it. So now that’s how it now operates.

Since 2013 the estate — that is over a 100 year old — has been on the National Register of Historic Places.(If you would like to know more about the gardens, here’s the official site.)

Linking to —

Our World Tuesday

If you’d like to see more Japanese Gardens on the West Coast, do visit:

Japanese Friendship Garden in San Jose

Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco

Portland Japanese Garden

Also:

Japanese Tea Garden (features and symbolism)

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Dee (Divya) Blogger, Freelance Content Writer & Content Strategist. ๐Ÿ“ธ Loves tripping.๐Ÿ›ฃ Tipsy from every TRIP!๐Ÿ˜ฌ๐Ÿซฃ ๐ŸžFollow > for intoxicating virtual trips!๐Ÿฅ‚๐Ÿ˜‰
34 Comments on this post.
  • Jim, Sydney, Australia
    6 November 2017 at 8:48 pm
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    • dNambiar
      7 November 2017 at 5:24 pm
      Leave a Reply

      It is, isnโ€™t it?
      Thank you for coming this way, Jim. ?

  • klara
    7 November 2017 at 1:26 am
    Leave a Reply

    beautiful garden and beautiful images.

    • dNambiar
      7 November 2017 at 5:41 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Absolutely. And if itโ€™s โ€˜springโ€™ or โ€˜fallโ€™ thereโ€™s a lot of color in these Japanese gardens. ๐Ÿ™‚
      Thank you, Klamath.:)

  • Liz Powley
    7 November 2017 at 1:53 am
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    Gorgeous. I love the colours and the textural design of the garden. Japanese gardens are kinda other worldly. I’m glaring at my garden and attempting to work out why mine doesn’t look like that, but then I remember they have gardeners ๐Ÿ˜€

    thank you so much for sharing these lovely photos.

    Best wishes,
    Liz
    Adelaide, Australia

    • dNambiar
      8 November 2017 at 1:02 am
      Leave a Reply

      Welcome here, Liz.

      Haha, yes – and gardeners ‘trained for the upkeep of Japanese gardens,’ too. ๐Ÿ™‚ The signature landscaping in these gardens makes them a world of their own. So pretty. So calm.

      I’m sure you have a lovely garden, Liz.

      Thank YOU for visiting this blog. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Lady Fi
    7 November 2017 at 7:47 am
    Leave a Reply

    How very gorgeous!

    • dNambiar
      7 November 2017 at 5:44 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Fall is a gorgeous season, is it not, Lady Fi?
      Thank you for coming this way. ?

  • joshi daniel
    7 November 2017 at 8:19 am
    Leave a Reply

    Nice mood ๐Ÿ™‚

    • dNambiar
      7 November 2017 at 5:47 pm
      Leave a Reply

      ?
      Hey Joshi.
      Photographerโ€™s delight this place is, huh?

  • Ranjana Shankar
    7 November 2017 at 9:16 am
    Leave a Reply

    So beautiful and calm…

    • dNambiar
      7 November 2017 at 5:50 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Beautiful indeed.
      Japanese gardens are meant to make visitors feel very calm in its premises. ๐Ÿ™‚ And I actually feel that way in these places.
      Thank you for visiting, dear Ranjana. ?

  • magiceye
    8 November 2017 at 2:37 am
    Leave a Reply

    All the photographs are wonderfully composed and shot!

    • dNambiar
      9 November 2017 at 9:35 am
      Leave a Reply

      Thank you so much, Magic eye. ๐Ÿ™‚
      It’s always great to hear that from you. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Rahul Bhatia
    10 November 2017 at 9:29 pm
    Leave a Reply

    What a riot of colours, Divya!Lovely

    • dNambiar
      12 November 2017 at 7:32 am
      Leave a Reply

      Indeed. ๐Ÿ™‚
      Thank you so much, Mr. Bhatia. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Sharada
    20 November 2017 at 8:29 pm
    Leave a Reply

    Gorgeous fall colours!

    • dNambiar
      24 November 2017 at 8:05 pm
      Leave a Reply

      True — they make such a gorgeous sight. ๐Ÿ™‚
      Welcome here, Sharada. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Yogi Saraswat
    21 November 2017 at 2:37 am
    Leave a Reply

    Amazing beauty !! Japanese gardens and temples (Otera ) are very fascinating !!

    • dNambiar
      24 November 2017 at 8:10 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Very. Japanese gardens and Japanese architecture are unique and pleasing to the eye.
      Thank you, Yogi. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Sapna Dhyani Devrani
    21 November 2017 at 4:02 am
    Leave a Reply

    Peace and beauty..thanks for sharing such a treat to the eyes

    • dNambiar
      24 November 2017 at 8:14 pm
      Leave a Reply

      These gardens are said to be designed to have a calming effect on the visitors. And they seem to succeed at doing that.
      You are so welcome.
      And thank YOU for coming this way, Sapna. Welcome to Tipsy from the TRIP. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Renu Vyas
    22 November 2017 at 9:43 am
    Leave a Reply

    Beautiful photographs !

    • dNambiar
      24 November 2017 at 8:14 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Thank you, Renu. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Rajesh
    22 November 2017 at 8:43 pm
    Leave a Reply

    Very beautiful and colorful garden.

    • dNambiar
      24 November 2017 at 8:15 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Absolutely beautiful. And the fall colors seem to add to the charm.
      Thank you, Rajesh.

  • Deepa Gopal Sunil
    23 November 2017 at 9:11 am
    Leave a Reply

    Transported to Japan! It’s extremely beautiful in the pics itself…how wonderful it would be to be there in person! I love their arched bridges, koi fish, the bamboo trees, cherry blossoms, the colours, the texture…all of it! Loved the 4th and the last pics the most!

    • dNambiar
      24 November 2017 at 8:19 pm
      Leave a Reply

      A little Japan made in the US. ๐Ÿ˜‰
      I love Japanese Gardens. They all look kinda alike but but there’s no getting tired of them. I love the tranquility in them.
      And the colors you see in Japanese gardens are something; especially in Spring and Fall.

      Thank you so much dear Deepa. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Rajeev Moothedath
    29 November 2017 at 7:08 pm
    Leave a Reply

    Lovely…

    • dNambiar
      30 November 2017 at 7:29 pm
      Leave a Reply

      ๐Ÿ™‚

      The park looked very pretty. Had we gone a week or so later, there would have been more colour though. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Thank you, Rajeev.

  • Mridula
    2 December 2017 at 2:50 am
    Leave a Reply

    The flaming tree by the waterfall is my favorite!

    • dNambiar
      4 December 2017 at 9:02 am
      Leave a Reply

      That Japanese Maple tree was one of my favourite sights there. It looked so pretty by the waterfall. ๐Ÿ™‚
      Thank you for stopping by, Mridula. ๐Ÿ™‚

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    4 February 2018 at 8:54 pm
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    […] the fall, we had been to Saratoga, CA to see some fall colors at Hakone Gardens, a Japanese Garden in the city. Later as we drove through Saratoga Village, we found that there was […]

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    […] of Fall on the Southern SierrasYosemite in Late Fall Fall Colors around Windsor Lake in Denver, COSplashes of Fall Color at Hakone Gardens Saratoga Village in its Fall Colors Fall-ing in love with the Pacific NorthwestDid you get to catch […]

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