Ann Waltonsmith

Hakone Estate and Gardens Ann Waltonsmith

Hakone Estate and Gardens, the jewel of the Silicon Valley, is 17 acres of landscape architecture designed as a hill-and-pond garden of ancient Japan. Visitors have unforgettable experiences at Hakone, from strolling in a bamboo forest to feeding the magnificent koi. Yet to be appreciated is Hakone's rich history, beginning in 1915, the year of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, with the purchase by San Franciscans Oliver and Isabel Stine of a parcel of land in Saratoga, California. After Oliver's unexpected death in 1918, Isabel carried on with the creation of her Japanese garden, defying anti-Asian nativism. The next owner, Maj. Charles Tilden, protected Hakone during World War II when the Japanese gardener and his family were sent to an internment camp. The last private owners, six couples in partnership, sold Hakone to the City of Saratoga in 1966. The city established the Hakone Foundation in 2000 to conserve and enhance the gardens for the benefit of the public and to serve as a global forum for art, music, culture, and ideas.