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Portland Japanese Garden

August 14, 2015 by Jonas Dupuich

On a recent trip to Oregon I had a chance to visit the Portland Japanese Garden. Set in the hills overlooking Portland – not far from the museum hosting next month’s Artisans Cup – the garden is well worth a visit. On the day I visited the weather was perfect.

Sunlight through Japanese maple foliage

Sunlight through Japanese maple foliage

Designed in 1963, the garden features five distinct gardens – the Strolling Pond Garden, the Tea Garden, the Natural Garden, the Sand and Stone Garden, and the Flat Garden. Each has its charms and mature trees fill each scene.

Strolling Pond Garden

Strolling Pond Garden

Laceleaf maple

Large laceleaf Japanese maple

Laceleaf maple

The tree’s interior

The garden is set on 5 1/2 acres of uneven terrain which creates natural separations between the different gardens. It’s both cell-phone free and smoke free.

Strolling Pond Garden

Strolling Pond Garden

In addition to the wonderful foliage, the garden features a variety of intricate stone paths.

Stonework

Stone path

Zig-zag path

Zig-zag path

Stonework

Stone path

Tea Garden

Entrance to the Tea Garden

The five-tiered stone pagoda below was donated to the garden by Portland’s sister city, Sapporo. The stones at the base of the pagoda are arranged in the shape of Hokkaido.

Five-tiered Pagoda

Five-tiered pagoda

Afternoon light through Maple foliage

Afternoon light through Maple foliage

The Natural Garden

The Natural Garden

The Sand and Stone Garden

The Sand and Stone Garden

My favorite of the gardens might be the Flat Garden. Featured in the sea of raked sand are two patches of moss in the shape of a gourd and a sake cup.

The Flat Garden

Flat Garden

Cherry

Large grafted cherry

An island of pines

An island of pines

The garden is located just above downtown Portland in Washington park. Do visit if you get the chance!

✕

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Filed Under: Excursions Tagged With: Portland

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gary R Croft says

    August 14, 2015 at 4:05 pm

    Jonas, after all the gardens in Japan I have seen, this one in Portland is the real deal.
    There is a wonderful sense of authenticity here that other western places strive for,but dont hit the mark.

    Gary Croft.
    Melbourne Aust

  2. Thomdec says

    August 14, 2015 at 5:42 pm

    Jonas, do you know if the Japanese Garden will be open to the public during The Artisans Cup, or are they part of the garden tours / partnerships The Cup is planning?

  3. Jonas Dupuich says

    August 14, 2015 at 6:27 pm

    Good question Thom – I haven’t seen it on the Cup’s site, but I know the Portland Bonsai Village has offered tours there in the past. I don’t know if the final schedules are out yet – I’d check their site (a new one is on the way) closer to the event.

  4. Lance says

    August 15, 2015 at 8:04 am

    Portland seems to grow everything well..

  5. Jonas Dupuich says

    August 19, 2015 at 1:49 pm

    Update – it looks like the Japanese Garden will be closed during the Artisans Cup (and through next winter) to make some big improvements. As a result, no tours are scheduled. Will post further updates if this changes.

  6. Janet Roth says

    August 19, 2015 at 6:39 pm

    Ah that’s a shame. As Gary Croft said, this is the only Japanese garden I’ve even seen outside Japan that was genuinely good. (All the rest look like theme park pretend places.) Anyone who has an opportunity to see it sometime should, it is so enjoyable

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