The Japanese tea garden plays an integral part in the tea ceremony, and as the ceremony has grown more elaborate through the years, so have the tea gardens. Japanese tea gardens are now comprised of two parts: the soto-roji (outer garden) and the uchi-roji, (inner garden). The outer section (soto roji) consists of a place where guests wait for the master to appear; the inner section contains the tea house itself. Stone lanterns light the pathway, either made of gravel or flat stones, between these two sections. The tea garden is usually made in a style similar to a hill garden, but is different in several respects.

First of all, the tea garden contains a wash basin, or Tsukubai. The Tsukubai is surrounded by Yaku-ishi, or (literally "accompanying stones"); one in front used for standing on, one on the right, and one on the left. The basin itself can be any shape, as long as it can be easily used. In fact, broken stone lanterns are often put to use as new wash basins. The tea garden also contains a resting place, for breaks in the tea ceremony. This resting area was not in the original tea gardens. The resting place's principal purpose, is to convey the spirit of wabi, or quiet solitude in nature.

While the outer garden contains deciduous plants and trees and is open and spacious, the inner garden is densely filled with evergreens, symbolizing its everlasting peace. The tea gardens of today have relatively few stones; flowering plants and extravagant designs are avoided, in favor of indigenous plants and materials found commonly along Japanese roads and in the countryside. Again, garden designers seek to find the essence of nature, and present it as a contemplative subject.

The modern form of Japanese tea garden is the one most well-known around the world.