City and community support local historical Japanese garden during COVID-19

Photo by Christina Chang

Photo taken during the 2019 Hakone Chakai, one of the many cultural events the garden hosts, captures the Moon Bridge stretching over a pond.

Known for its cascading waterfalls, tranquil ambiance and beautiful scenery, Saratoga’s historical Hakone Gardens was previously home to weddings, zen and meditation, Japanese tea ceremony classes and the city’s annual Lunar New Year celebration.

However, with COVID-19 preventing many of these ceremonies from taking place, the city and community residents are working to ease the pandemic’s impact on the 100-year-old Japanese garden.

Typically, the Hakone Foundation, a self-sufficient non-profit that operates Hakone Estate and Gardens on behalf of the city, hosts large events like the Hakone Chakai and the annual Lunar New Year celebration. These events are responsible for over 50 percent of the garden’s operating revenue, according to Shozo Kagoshima, executive director of the foundation. Additionally, revenue from private events such as weddings, receptions, family lifetime events, and business meetings and retreats has been cut by 60 percent in the past year.

The garden has also faced challenges including struggles to find personal protective equipment like masks and gloves for their employees, as well as creating paths for visitors to follow to minimize crossing of paths while still allowing visitors to see all of the gardens. 

Despite this, the garden has seen some improvements in the new situation. General attendance has increased by approximately 20 percent from 2019, according to Kagoshima.

The city was already supporting the garden before the pandemic, but has provided additional funding. The city allocated $500,000 for capital improvement projects over the past five years, which has provided funding for the maintenance of the garden’s structural aspects like the replacement of railings on the Cultural Exchange Center deck, retrofitting the foundation of the Moon Viewing House and funding for the upcoming Koi Pond project, among other things. 

To help the garden manage the ill effects of COVID-19, the city also provided Hakone with grants to support their operational needs and budget. This year, on top of the normal budget allocations, the city has put money aside for COVID-19 relief, including $40,000 to the Hakone Foundation, according to mayor Yan Zhao.

“Normally we don’t have this amount of funds to give out, so it’s kind of a big burden on the city,” Zhao said. “It’s unexpected in our budget, but it’s the right thing to do to help people during this difficult time.”

Hakone Gardens holds a special place in many students’ hearts, due to the many memorable experiences they have had there. 

Sophomore Carolyn Pyun has been to Hakone Gardens on multiple occasions for Saratoga Youth Commision work during Lunar New Year, although she said her favorite visits were with family when her grandma visited from Korea.

“I was just awed that there is a place that's so beautiful in our city and it's like a slice from another country because it looks so different,” Pyun said. “When I think of Hakone Gardens, the first thing that comes to my mind is the absolutely beautiful nature of it: the ponds, trees, flowers, especially the turtles — it's very relaxing and aesthetically pleasing.”

Her favorite feature of the garden is the wooden Moon Bridge, which stretches over a pond. 

“The view is so pretty there,” Pyun said. “It's like some scene from a Korean drama.”

Freshman Minh Do also enjoys his trips to the Japanese gardens, especially the dim sum, music performances, and Gong Fu during their Lunar New Year festival. Because his family has a membership at Hakone, they visit regularly for cultural events. Despite the garden’s struggles, local city governments and residents like Pyun and Do have played a vital role in keeping Hakone gardens going during the pandemic.

“Our supporters have been very generous with their donations to help make up for some of the loss of revenue,” Kagoshima said.

Currently, the Hakone Foundation is looking into maintenance for their garden, including their well-known koi pond. In the future, they are planning to start a campaign to fundraise for a $4-million project to redesign the pond in order to provide a safer and healthier environment for the koi and provide better accessibility for visitors.

“Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we feel confident that Hakone is in a good position financially and operationally to continue providing the community with the opportunity to visit the gardens,” Kagoshima said. “By this time next year, we hope that we will be able to get back to pre-COVID-19 operations.”