20240325_091051Japanese Tea Garden (March 2024)

It was my birthday on our third day in San Francisco. My partner and I had another busy day going from one neighborhood to another, as we were checking out the remaining places we hadn’t visited during our previous two days in town. We also spent the day eating a ton of good food; if my partner and I hadn’t had enough during our first two days in SF, then we really spent our third day going all out! No regrets, though, as everything we had was delicious. 😛

My partner and I actually skipped breakfast and headed out early to catch the bus to our first stop of the day: the Japanese Tea Garden. Located inside the sprawling Golden Gate Park, this small, but well-designed garden was built in 1894 during the World’s Fair by Japanese immigrants, one of whom, Makoto Hagiwara, inherited it following the fair’s end. The Hagiwara family owned it until WWII, when the family was evicted and sent to Japanese internment camp. Even after the war, the Hagiwaras were not allowed back to the garden and could not reclaim ownership. Although the family would never own the garden again, the 1950s saw a period of reconciliation, in which the city re-beautified the garden back to its former glory.

20240325_090646At the Japanese Tea Garden

The history is tragic for the Hagiwaras, and to be honest, I was unaware of the not-so-great history behind the garden until after I visited and looked it up online. There’s a bit of regret having visited it, but at the same time, I do appreciate that the city at least made the effort to maintain and keep the garden as original as it was in the past with the Hagiwaras.

Normally, tickets to enter are $18.75 USD for non-residents, but it’s free on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9h00-10h00. My partner and I did just that, visiting on one of those weekdays as soon as it opened at 9h00. As the garden is quite small, we spent maybe 30 minutes to 1 hour walking the grounds to admire the pagodas and well-manicured bonsai trees. We also happened to visit in the spring, so we saw some cherry blossoms!

20240325_091648Cherry blossoms!

We left the Japanese Tea Garden and headed outside the Golden Gate Park to get breakfast at a small Chinese bakery that sold pineapple buns. While not actually made out of pineapples, these round and fluffy buns are shaped in a way that resembles a pineapple. The shop also happened to make the buns in the Hong Kong style, which meant adding butter to the inside of the bun. My partner and I ordered two pineapple buns with guava-flavored butter, as well as two Hong Kong milk teas, before we returned to the nearby Golden Gate Park to sit down at the picnic tables to eat.

20240325_100248Pineapple bun with guava butter and Hong Kong milk tea

…and boy oh boy, the pineapple buns were INCREDIBLE. I’ve had my fair share of them growing up, but I’ve never had one as fresh and soft as the one I had in SF! The buns were so soft, they also melted in my mouth. The guava butter was a lovely surprise, too, as it packed a fruity punch that complemented the bread itself. Paired with our sweet and creamy Hong Kong milk teas, my partner and I had a wonderful breakfast, and we wished we’d gone again before leaving SF– I would return just to get those pineapple buns!

Our next bus was delayed, but it eventually arrived and we were heading all the way east of town to the Painted Ladies. Built between 1892 and 1896, this row of colorful Victorian and Edwardian homes were one of the 48,000 homes constructed all over the city– while thousands of these homes were destroyed during the 1906 earthquake and demolished in the decades following, the Painted Ladies still survive today and is an iconic landmark in SF. This so-called “Postcard Row” has been featured in many films and TV shows, including the famous 90’s sitcom Full House.

20240325_113226The Painted Ladies

Next was another bus ride to the Mission District, located in the southern part of SF. Home to a notable Chicano and Mexican-American community, the Mission District has plenty of restaurants, bars, and shops that serve up delicious, authentic Mexican food, including the well-known Mission burrito. First created in the 1960s, what makes the Mission burrito distinctive is it includes rice and is wrapped in aluminum foil. My partner and I got just that, at one of the restaurants along Mission Street– besides being inexpensive ($11 for a massive burrito), it was chock-full of rice, beans, cheese, and everything else in between. A great bargain!

20240325_125454Mission burrito

It was surprisingly warm that afternoon, so we got some ice cream nearby and then headed to the top of Dolores Park, where we sat and enjoyed the SF skyline in the distance. There were many people out enjoying the great weather, some lounging around, picnicking, or walking their dogs. Dolores Park was a great place to relax, people watch, and otherwise take in the local atmosphere of it all.

20240325_140311SF skyline at Dolores Park

We then headed to Japantown, a smaller district that consists of several indoor malls that actually make up the neighborhood. Besides wandering the malls filled with ramen shops, tea houses, and anime stores, we were there to check out a crêperie that made cute, animal-shaped crêpes. My partner and I shared a matcha-flavored one in the shape of a mouse– although very adorable, the taste was sadly just-average, but it was a nice, little gimmicky snack to have.

20240325_145252Cute animal-shaped crepe

My partner and I had a quick rest back at our hotel for the rest of the afternoon, before we decided to head out for dinner. Although we were by no means hungry (especially after eating so much good food all day), we still headed out to a nearby sushi restaurant, where we had a nice birthday dinner. It was a great way to end the day, as well as celebrate my birthday, and we returned to our hotel afterwards to relaxed for the remainder of the day.

20240325_184407Sushi for birthday dinner

There remains one more day of our time in SF, so stay tuned for the next (and final) post! 🙂

— Rebecca

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Published by Rebecca

Blogger, world traveler, poet, foodie, part-time penguin. Welcome!

36 thoughts on “Destination: San Francisco, California (Best Pineapple Buns, Visiting the Mission District, and Birthday Dinner– DAY 3)”

  1. What a wonderful way to spend your birthday – the crepe looks amazing!! I am really saddened by the Hagiwaras story though – it’s such a beautiful garden and I can only imagine it ripped their hearts out to be separated from it. Pearl Harbour had just happened though, so it’s utterly awful but also a symptom of the times – the family would, I’m sure, be pleased it had been restored for people to enjoy.

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    1. Thanks, Han! It was a lovely birthday spent in SF. In hindsight, I feel bad I visited the Japanese Tea Garden before knowing about the Hagiwaras. Definitely a not-so-great part of history, but I agree with you that efforts to restore the garden are, in some ways, a way of reconciling for the past ❤️

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    1. Indeed! Learning about the Hagiwaras following our visit to the Japanese Tea Garden was sad, and I should’ve been aware of it going into it. Definitely is reminiscent of what’s going on today, which is frightening…

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    1. The pineapple bun was incredible, and I would return to SF just to eat more of them! The Japanese Tea Garden’s history isn’t great, but I appreciated how the city has made efforts to reconcile the garden and its past.

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  4. It’s really sad to read about what happened to the Hagiwaras. Just because they were ethnic Japanese didn’t mean they had anything to do with Imperial Japan’s colonial ambitions. It sounds like the day went really well for you and your partner, with so much food and great weather. And what a great way to celebrate your birthday with sushi!

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    1. Exactly! The Japanese internment of the 1940s was not the proudest moment in US history, and to be honest, it does feel like history is repeating itself these days…any case, it was a good time spent on my birthday, and the sushi dinner was the icing on the cake!

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  6. Looks like a great day, and if you can’t eat a lot on your birthday, when can you?!! We had planned to visit the Japanese Tea Garden but were short of time so skipped it as we have a pretty Japanese garden in London – it does look lovely though!

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    1. True! I associate good birthdays with plenty of good food, so that day in SF was perfect! Given the sad history of the Japanese Tea Garden, perhaps it was wise you didn’t visit. I don’t think I’ve visited the Japanese Garden in London, but I’ll have to check it out upon returning!

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  9. Sounds like a fun and filling birthday. Your photos are wonderful, particularly the skyline and Painted Ladies. The Hagiwaras’ story is completely tragic. I can’t imagine how heartbreaking it must have been to have been banned from their own garden. History just keeps repeating itself.

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    1. Thanks, Rebecca! It’s wonderful your partner has fond memories growing up in SF. A good birthday isn’t complete without a ton of great food, that’s for sure! I appreciate you reading 😊

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  13. Belated Happy Birthday! The Sushi dinner looked yum! The pinepple buns sound delicious, I’m curious about the guava butter.
    I only knew about the Japanese Tea Garden through your post, and read its history just now. Amazing how the beauty we see today hides a history most of us barely know.

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    1. Thank you! Indeed, it was a wonderful, food-filled day and I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday! The history of the Japanese Tea Garden isn’t great, but I do appreciate what SF has done to reconcile by preserving the garden.

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  16. I love Japanese gardens, and having lived in Japan for 3 years, walking in one always feels calming and refreshing. Sorry to read the story of the Hagiwaras. I hope the garden management can at least do a plaque or some recognition. 

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  17. Well, you certainly went all out, as one should do on such a special occasion. Great to see the painted Ladies again, plus the Japanese Garden looks fabulous in all its cherry-blossomey splendour. I have never tried one of those buns. You mention guava butter (sounds great), but is that something meaty inside?

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    1. Indeed! It was a food-filled day with plenty of delicious eats all over SF. The “meat” inside the pineapple bun is actually the guava butter! Literally, a large pat of guava-infused butter…so rich, but so delicious! 😋

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