Portland’s Japanese Garden

Portland’s Japanese Garden is a famous traditional Japanese garden located within the vicinity of Washington Park close to Portland’s West Hills. It is a top-rated tourist attraction next to the International Rose Test Garden located at its base. Its hours are 12 pm-7 pm on Mondays, and 10 am – 7 pm every other day. Most visits last about two hours, and the park is most busy at around 1 pm – 3 pm.

A private organization purchased the 12 acres of land for the park in Oregon in the late 1960s and operated entirely as a non-profit. Since 2005, Stephen D. Bloom has been the chief executive controller and officer of this traditional Japanese garden in Oregon.

History

Portland became the sister or twin city of Sapporo, Japan in 1958, which inspired the local officials and the local businessmen of Portland to build a Japanese park in Portland. On 4th of June in 1962, the city council passed a commission in which it declared the commencement of the establishment of the garden. This park was in the area where there was a zoo until the year 1959. The park now in the forest and the hillside of the Washington Park.

This garden opened to the public of Oregon and the world in the year 1967. Takuma Tono, a member of the Tokyo University of Agriculture, designed, structured, and developed the architecture of the park. Construction began in 1963, and within three years, it opened to the public of Oregon. On its dedication day, May 18th, there was an eruption at Mt. St. Helens National Park.

This Japanese garden in Portland, Oregon, is visited often by Japanese officials and praised as the most beautiful garden outside Japan.

Features

Currently, the garden consists of the of 8 smaller gardens and a cultural village. Within the Japanese garden, there is a strolling pond park. The moon bridge in this garden connects the lower and the upper ponds, which are home to various koi.

There is a 100-year-old pagoda lantern with five tiers, which was a gift from Sapporo, the sister city of Portland.

This garden is also a natural reserve as it has many streams, ponds, waterfalls, mosses, trees, plants, shrubs and various species of birds.

There is also a sand and water garden, where you can see a lot of weathered stones. These stones typically rise from the rippled sand above the level of the suggestive water.

The flat garden in the Japanese Portland garden in Oregon is also known as the villa garden. This area has maple trees, mosses, ferns, evergreen trees, and azaleas. Moreover, this region of the Japanese garden represents the architectural style of the Kamakura period.

Throughout the year, numerous events take place ranging from Sake tastings to various cultural demonstrations, such as tea ceremonies, musical performances, and bonsai technique seminars.

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Portland Japanese Garden

Wikipedia: Portland Japanese Garden

Oregon Encyclopedia: Portland Japanese Garden

City of Portland: Japanese Garden in Washington Park