They were all signs of a most unusual activity in Saratoga—the shooting of a movie.

A bevy of internationally acclaimed actors, an Oscar-winning director and a film crew of almost 200 came to Hakone Gardens in Saratoga on Jan. 17 and 18 for the shooting of Memoirs of a Geisha, a film based on an acclaimed novel of the same name.

The gardens were bathed in a sea of light during the filming, and they basked in the attention of a talented film crew that had brought in trees, shrubs and props to give Hakone a more tropical look. Lanterns had been installed and smoke machines were used to give the illusion of fog.

Jack Tomlinson, Japanese garden specialist who works at the gardens, spent many a sleepless night before the shoot.

"A lot of people said that movie crews can be callous and barbaric. They gave me a negative impression. I thought I would have to defend the gardens against these people," Tomlinson said. "But it turned out to be a love-fest. The film crew was wonderful and respectful."

Tomlinson said that the crew had worked to give the gardens an exotic, tropical look. "They used every part of the garden for the shoot. A waiting pavilion we have was transformed into a hot spring resort. They even brought in a snow machine to film a scene," he said.

Tomlinson, who speaks a smattering of Japanese, tried his language skills on Ken Watanabe, an internationally acclaimed actor who has starred in The Last Samurai and also stars in the forthcoming Batman Begins.

"I told him that I had seen a Japanese samurai series he had starred in. I think he was surprised when he heard me speaking in Japanese," Tomlinson said.

Ziyi Zhang, another acclaimed actress who has starred in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, could be seen walking up and down the gardens surrounded by an entourage of handlers, make-up artists and interpreters. Since most of the shooting was done during the night, many of the actors, actresses and extras were wearing modern outerwear over their traditional kimonos as they waited for the shooting to begin.

The other well-known actors at the gardens included Michelle Yeoh, the Bond girl from Tomorrow Never Dies, and Paul Adelstein, who had a small part in Collateral.

Director Rob Marshall, the Oscar-winning director of Chicago, divided his time between various locations in the Bay Area. Besides Hakone Gardens, the film was also being shot at Moss Beach, the Sacramento train station and the Fitzgerald Marine Preserve.

Marshall has assembled a talented crew for the movie. Dion Beebe, an Oscar nominee for Chicago, is the director of photography for the film. Pietro Scalia, the film's editor, is an Academy Award winner too, and has been involved in movies such as Black Hawk Down. John Williams, who composed the score for movies like E.T. and Star Wars, is the film's music composer. Acclaimed moviemaker Steven Spielberg, who attended Saratoga High School, is one of the producers of the movie.

Mike Fantasia, the location manager for the film, said the shoot had progressed very smoothly. "This is one of our last days of shooting in the country. We are also shooting a small part of the movie in Japan," he said.

Memoirs of a Geisha is produced by Sony Pictures and is estimated to be in movie theaters by December 2005. The film, set against the backdrop of World War II, is the story of Sayuri, an impoverished Japanese girl who is sold to a geisha house in Kyoto where she becomes the target of various rivalries. The girl overcomes all obstacles to become a well-known geisha. The role of Sayuri is played by Ziyi Zhang.

The actors and crew used West Valley College as a staging area, where the cast members dressed and put on their makeup before being driven to Hakone.

The gardens were closed to the public from Jan. 6 on as the crew worked on the set. But curious locals had been trying to take a peek inside for days.

"I heard all kinds of excuses. Some people would drive up and say that they wanted to use the restroom. Some others wanted to look at the gardens because they wanted to use it as a wedding venue," said a security guard associated with the production.

The gift shop at the gardens did very good business during the shoot.

"I have had a lot of the film crew come into our gift shop," said Molly Kirkley, the gift shop manager. She said that the crew had bought several items that were used during the shoot.

"The film will boost our visibility among cultural leaders and the public," said Lon Saavedra, the CEO of Hakone Gardens. "We were thrilled. And the board of trustees was thrilled with the opportunity to showcase Hakone to the film community and an international audience."

Saavedra said that he had received more inquires about shooting for commercials at the gardens. "I think we have taken a major step here toward financial independence," he said.

According to Saavedra, the garden management is looking at a new business model to generate more money.

"It has been a long two weeks, but it has been a good two weeks," he said. "It's been very rewarding."