PNW Gardens: Portland Japanese Garden
Nestled into the giant conifers of the West Hills, the Portland Japanese Garden sits inside the larger Washington Park “complex” of parks and natural areas scattered across the West Hills of Portland, connected by a myriad of trails, and maintained by Portland Parks and Recreation or other public/private partnerships.
You can absolutely combine a visit to both the Japanese and Chinese gardens in Portland in a single day, and if that is all the time you have on a fair-weather day, it isn’t a bad way to fill it up. That’s what I did a few years ago, after living here for a decade. You can see the Lan Su Chinese Garden pictures in an upcoming post.
The main entrances to the garden, on either the east or west side, are fairly new and the first I had been through either one. I unfortunately didn’t get any pictures, but they are worth contemplation and observation if and when you visit.
The east side entrance, closest to the International Rose Test Garden, is rather modern and has a terraced water feature. The west entrance is carved into the hillside and has a pretty major feat of masonry (aka the Castle Wall) in the supported hillside. That upper west entrance (known as Cultural Village) is also where all the newer, enlarged, and/or modernized buildings are now, including a restaurant and outdoor courtyard.
There is a famous Japanese maple picture that makes its rounds every now and then and it is this tree. Though prime time is not in June but in the fall when the colors are at their best and the light turns the contorted trunks and branches into blackened ink painted over fire.
Somehow I left this visit also not having taken any pictures of the Sand and Stone Garden or the Natural Garden. I know I have other pictures of those areas from previous visits but they are currently on an inaccessible external hard drive that I still have not cracked. But it makes a great excuse to go back soon and take new pictures!
Go back to the series landing page here:
