There are presently two houses in the Japanese Garden; the first was purchased and moved here in 1911 from a failing Pasadena “Tea Garden”. However, it is not, in fact, a tea house, (and should not be confused with the Rose Garden Tea Room, where they do actually serve a fancy English tea/luncheon). This house is an upper middle class Japanese home from the 1800s, built in a traditional style.

On the hill above is an actual Ceremonial Teahouse, built in Kyoto in the 1960s and donated to The Huntington by the Pasadena Buddhist Temple. After restoration in Japan, it was placed in a traditionally landscaped tea garden as part of the Japanese Garden’s centennial restoration in 2011.

Please note that permission to film inside either house must be considered on a case by case basis and should not be assumed.

(More about the Japanese Houses.)