Portland Japanese Garden

The garden opened in 1967 on the site of the old city zoo, designed by Takuma Tono, and covers about five hectares in five distinct styles - a strolling pond garden, a tea garden, a natural garden, a sand and stone garden and a flat garden. A Japanese ambassador to the United States called it the most authentic Japanese garden outside Japan, and the phrase has followed it since. Kengo Kuma designed a cultural village expansion that opened in 2017, adding buildings with deep overhanging roofs and a castle-style stone wall built by a fourteenth-generation Japanese stonemason. On clear days Mount Hood appears framed above the flat garden. The maples in the strolling garden are the reason November is crowded.

What you actually see

• Five distinct garden styles - across about five hectares.
• Kuma's 2017 cultural village - with walls by a traditional stonemason.
• Mount Hood framed above the flat garden - on clear days only.
• Maples in November - the peak of the visiting year.

When to go

April to November; maples peak in early November. Two to three hours.

Honest expectations

Tickets are timed and sell out in autumn. Mount Hood is hidden most days by Portland's cloud. Paths are gravel and stepped throughout. It is small for the price if you rush it.

Nearby

The International Rose Test Garden is adjacent; downtown Portland is east.