About 15 tatami mats—delicate Japanese floor mats woven out of thin strands of bamboo—were found damaged after the crew had left.

"The mats are in the upper house. We have found small indentations on the mats. They look like little dimples," said Lon Saavedra, CEO of the gardens.

The damage was apparently done by a still photographer who set up a tripod on the floor, causing the little indentations. "The damage is not evident to a lay person. But if you look carefully, you can see it," said Saavedra.

The upper house, sometimes used as a tea room, has 27 and a half mats in all. Saavedra said that all of them will have to be replaced.

"Sony will pay for the damage, of course. But we have received varying estimates from tatami makers. It could be anything between $5,000 to $40,000 or even higher," said Saavedra.

He said that talks have begun with different vendors to find the perfect match. "We are also talking to a dealer in Kyoto," he said.

It will be two or three months before the mats are replaced.

A well-woven tatami mat is an important component of a Japanese house.

Saavedra estimated the existing mats in the building to be at least 40 years old. "It certainly predates the city buying the gardens in the '60s," said Saavedra.

Because the mats are so old, they are not of a standard size. "They were custom-made to fit the house. So a standardized mat will not fit into the upper house," he said.

Mike Fantasia, location manager for Memoirs of a Geisha, said that the studio will be working with garden staff closely to find exact replacements for the mats. "This is going to take some time. It is not like going to a corner store to buy something," said Fantasia.

Jack Tomlinson, a Japanese garden specialist who works at the gardens, said that he had been working hard to find a good mat maker. "We have heard of someone in South San Francisco who makes these mats," he said.

Tomlinson said that the old wallpaper in the upper house might also be replaced when the new mats arrive.

Fantasia said that some damage occasionally happens during a film-shoot because of all the heavy equipment that is moved.

Last month, the crew of the Geisha got into a flap when locals alleged that San Mateo County staff approved a plan to shoot at the Fitzgerald Marine Preserve in Moss Beach without adequate review.