Two weeks ago this column looked at Japanese teahouses. At one time we had more than 30 of them on Oahu, many in the Nuuanu area.

One of the most famous was Mochizuki Tea House in Liliha, on Kunawai Lane below Judd Street.

James Fujita wrote me that his grandfather Hisaichi Fujita was the owner and operator of Mochizuki Tea House from the 1920s to 1955.

"When he passed away, my father, George Hideo Fujita, and his sister Fumiko Fujita operated as partners until the fall of 1973 when it closed its door permanently and disappeared into our collective ‘rearview mirror.’"

Longtime Honolulu resident Tim Fern recalls a nondescript parking area at Mochizuki, walking through an otherwise plain gate, yet immediately into a tranquil scene one might expect to see in Japan.

"The individual rooms had tatami mats from wall to wall, with low eating tables. A stack of printed, cleaned and ironed kimonos were at the entrance to each room. Of course, shoes were left at the door.

"The six rooms hovered around a beautifully sculpted koi-filled pond," Fern says. "Sliding doors and window were papered, no furniture except the low table and futon pillows. I’m sure that some mainland visitors had a challenging time adjusting their geometry to eat while seated on the floor.

"Kimono-clad waitresses suddenly appeared to seat guests, hibachi-cook food and serve an otherwise scrumptious meal.

"(In the 1970s) my friend Todd and I arranged for such a meal for ourselves and our dates. My girlfriend at the time lived in Nuuanu valley but was unaware that this gem existed. Little did we all know that the era of Mochizuki and other Hawaii Japanese teahouses would soon end."

"The original Mochizuki Tea Garden was located in Waikiki," Fujita says. "My grandfather bought it from Mr. Mochizuki and moved it to property he found in Liliha."

Mochizuki Tea House was more than a restaurant. There were six small Japanese-style houses where parties could dine privately and a main dining building for big parties up to 100 people.

"In the 1920s, people could take a bath first in a big Japanese-style furo, change into a yukata and go down to the dining room where they would be served sukiyaki, sashimi, tempura and any other dish they wished to order along with soup, tsukemono (pickled vegetables), and, of course, rice. My favorite dish on the Mochizuki menu, while growing up, was the stuffed lobster."

There was supposedly also sake even during Prohibition. Guests in the ’30s could also request geisha who would be brought in to entertain. In the 1930s, Mochizuki Tea House was the place for celebrities to dine. "I have several autograph books signed by distinguished guests who dined at our restaurant. Among them were Shirley Temple, Walt Disney, Robert Montgomery, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby, Myrna Loy and Babe Ruth."

Many Japanese celebrities, movie stars and singers also dined at Mochizuki Tea House. "Adm. Kichisaburo Nomura of the Imperial Japanese Navy and later ambassador to the United States dined here. After the war, Cmdr. Mitsuo Fuchida, leader of the air assault on Pearl Harbor, visited Mochizuki.

"In the 1950s, Red Skelton, Richard Boone, Rory Calhoun and Ronald Reagan dined with us," Fujita recalls. "Celebrities liked our restaurant because of the private dining rooms. They would dine without anyone bothering them."

Donna Miyashiro moved to Kunawai Lane in 1957. She recalls being in the Mochizuki gardens when her father, Charles, provided decorations for the parties. "My father was trained in the Japanese art of vegetable carving and made radish rosettes, flowers made with turnips and carrots, mums using round onions, and fishnets made from turnips."

James Fujita recalls that "one evening in the ’60s, we opened our doors to a very special guest. Gov. John Burns hosted a dinner for Jacqueline Kennedy and her children, John Jr. and Caroline. This was several years after the assassination of her husband, the president. They were the only customers that evening, and I remember the police and Secret Service were everywhere. No one was allowed to say anything until after they were long gone.

"The private dining rooms probably helped end the business. Unlike a restaurant where you have a turnover of customers, at Mochizuki one party would stay the entire evening in one of the private rooms."

By the ’70s there were more and more Japanese restaurants and sushi bars where you could sit down for a meal and be out in an hour.

The teahouse experience of sitting on the floor and spending hours on a meal may not have been attractive. "The days of our parking lot filled with tour buses seemed to have peaked. "A real estate developer approached my father and aunt and told us he wanted to build a residential condominium on our property. I guess it seemed like the right time to quit. The same buildings from the 1920s were getting old, and it would cost too much money to tear down and rebuild new dining rooms."

The Kunawai Terrace condominium now stands on the 1-acre property that was once Mochizuki Tea House. The developers capped the natural bubbling spring water but left a small pond at Kunawai Springs Park adjacent to where Mochizuki stood. They also created a series of water features inside the condominium courtyard.

"In October of 1973, I said goodbye to the only home I knew," Fujita concludes. "It broke my heart to see it being torn down. Today, several generations have been born who have no recollection of Mochizuki Tea House."

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Bob Sigall, author of the “Companies We Keep” books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.