Hakone Gardens is a Japanese teahouse style garden located in Saratoga. Admission is free, although parking is $7. Or you can park below the mountain for free and walk up through the trail.
(Photos and more in the extended entry)
Since I didn't want to pay $7 for parking, I parked at the base of the mountain and walked up using the trail. You can walk up the street too, but that's not recommended, since you're liable to get hit by a car. The sign lists the hours Hakone Gardens is open, and also posts a warning that poison oak exists on this trail. Having been years since I looked any kind of plant guide, I couldn't remember what poison oak looked like, and spent the length of the trail avoiding the touch of any plant.
The first structure I saw was the teahouse. Unfortunately, they were holding a bridal faire within the buildings, so I couldn't see the interior. One of the signs nearby says that the buildings here are reconstructions based on a 14th century tea trader's home in Japan.
The well is right next to the building. I'm not sure what function this building served, but it too was closed to the public today.
There's a gigantic koi pond within the garden, filled with koi, turtles and a couple of ducks. A couple of red dragonflies flittered across the pond, but my camera isn't quick enough to catch them in these shots.
It was quite hot and sunny, so a good number of koi stayed under the cool shade of the bridge.
Past the pond, is a little waterfall that feeds into the koi pond.
If you walk around, eventually you'll come to a walkway. Past this is the bamboo grove, but because they want to protect the young bamboo (they are quite fragile this time of year) they've closed off the grove temporarily.
This is a little area where they grow tea plants. These signs indicate what's been planted here.
A closeup of some flowers.
Wow. These photos are quite beautiful. You take good pictures, you know. ^^!