Portland’s Japanese Garden

The Portland Japanese Garden located in Washington Park, is a gorgeous 12.5 acre (5.1 hectare) expanse that opened to the public in 1967.

The garden was envisioned by civic leaders, including Mayor Terry Schrunk, in the late 1950s to help repair post WWII relations. It includes some of the traditional elements of Japanese gardens including ponds and streams, bridges, islands, water and stone, and trees and shrubs.

Designed by Takuma Tono, then a professor at Tokyo Agricultural University, it now receives more than 400,000 visitors each year. Japanese dignitaries consider it to be one of the most authentic and beautiful Japanese gardens outside of their country.

The Kashintei Tea House was constructed in 1968 in Japan, shipped to Portland then assembled on-site. It serves as a venue for special events and as an art gallery.

There is a nice variety of art in the teahouse.

The garden is a tranquil place to stroll and escape the hectic pace of city life.

TheTravelsketcher enjoyed some sketching time.

A garden is a friend you can visit any time. Okakura Kakuzo

For additional information about the history of the garden, click here.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Japanese garden, and spent several hours there. I took close to 150 photos, and it was hard to choose which ones to include in this post!

Entry fees are a bit steep:

Adults: $22.50

Seniors: $19.50

Students: $18.50

Youth: $16:50

Children 5 and under: free.

Interestingly, the entry fee in 1967 was just $0.50 for adults, $0.25 for students; it’s a bit more expensive now!

What do you think of Portland’s Japanese Garden? As always, I would love to hear from you, so leave a message if you like.

Happy spring!

Tricia