The Japanese Tea Garden The newest interactive augmented reality experience is here
you swipe up, it releases it into the pond,” Day said. Designed for users of all ages, there are six different augmented reality focus points located around the garden: the Torii Gate, Pavilion, Lower Garden, Dragon Bridge, Observation Tower, and of course the Jingu House. The historic Jingu House sits atop the upper garden near the pavilion and observation tower. The name pays homage to Kimi Eizo Jingu and his family who resided on the garden grounds and operated a restaurant known as the Bamboo Room from 1926 to 1942.
Located in the heart of San Antonio just north of Mulberry off Highway 281, the San Antonio Japanese Tea Garden has marveled locals and visitors alike since the early 20th century. Often referred to as San Antonio’s best kept secret, the attributes of the garden are now being highlighted in a new high-tech augmented reality app available for free in the Apple and Google Play Stores. The Japanese Tea Garden AR App was developed by GeoMedia, Inc. in partnership with the San Antonio Parks Foundation, the nonprofit responsible for preserving and operating the historic garden. Launched in October 2021, the AR app, “is lovingly referred to as our COVID project, something our team worked on for 18 months, and it is one of the first in the nation to have an interactive augmented reality component,” The San Antonio Parks Foundation’s Libby Day said. The Japanese Tea Garden’s incredible 11 acres are filled with arcing stone bridges, Japanese koi ponds and even a waterfall. “There is a koi fish augmented reality component where you can actually color your own koi fish in. And then when
“The daughter of one of the family members who lived at the garden and helped operate the restaurant there in the 1920s and ‘30s was able to be a part of the app development process and help go over the history and make sure the history was represented accurately and with integrity,” she said. Today, the Jingu House is closed for renovations and will reopen in the spring of 2022 with a new restaurant and café for guests to enjoy during their visits to the garden. Open 365 days a year, the Japanese Tea Garden is free to experience, just like the app. Take in the tranquil view from the open-air pavilion at the top
and then follow the nearby winding path down a set of stone stairs, up and along arched bridges, and around the base of a sixty-foot waterfall. Sun streams in overhead, warming this sunken oasis in the cooler months. This park comes with a Texas twist: in lieu of classic Japanese maple or cherry trees, native and adaptive species abound, including leafy green Mexican sycamore trees and flower-studded desert willows. The Japanese Tea Garden is open to the public daily from dawn to dusk and is wheelchair accessible.
www.SAParksFoundation.org
