I need to put up a privacy fence around our small Japanese garden styled yard in North Jersey, just across from NYC.

A roofed Japanese-style fence would be great...

http://woodsshop.com/closeup/images/Japanese-Garden_000.JPG

...but I don't know who installs that sort of thing around here at all, never mind at a reasonable cost.

I'm also not sure what material and/or finish would be best. This isn't California so the winters take their toll on wood fences, quickly turning them grey. Bamboo is probably even worse.

I see a lot of no-maintenance vinyl fencing around here which works well for the region but seems rather inappropriate for the natural philosophy of a Japanese garden.

There's not much space for a natural hedge or tree-fence. Besides, that would require displacing existing plantings. Plus our goal is to gain privacy from our neighbors sooner than later.

I might just go with a simple, neighbor-friendly 6ft wood privacy fence but I'm open to any thoughts/suggestions.