Photos: Portland Japanese Garden flush with peak colors

Published 5:15 pm Thursday, November 9, 2023

People have a lot of places to escape in Portland and suburbs, and none settle the nerves, relax the mind, puts things into perspective and heighten the senses more than Portland Japanese Garden.

It’s open year-around and, if you’re lucky enough to catch peak colors, it’s a great time to visit the garden, 611 S.W. Kingston Ave., in Washington Park. Pamplin Media Group photographer Jonathan House visited Portland Japanese Garden recently and came away with his (typical) spectacular photos.

The garden folks expect the colors to stay around this week. One of them called it “a landscape awash in its famous autumn golds and crimsons.”

“Each tree puts on a stunning show every year, and has a different effect on the space it’s in,” said Megumi Kato, garden marketing director. “The lace leaf maple in our Strolling Pond Garden (often referred to as ‘The Tree’) is, of course, a showstopper. There is also a large maple tree in our Flat Garden that is a gorgeous hue of fiery orange. It is beautiful to see how our Japanese maple trees highlight each garden space in a unique way.”

Visitors flock to Portland Japanese Garden during peak color season with its “pockets of sunshine,” Kato added. Recently, more kids have been visiting because of the Portland Public Schools teachers strike preventing schools from being open.

The garden expects to welcome about 410,000 people in 2023. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was about a half million visitors a year. Kato said the most popular areas are places with wider walking paths and better accessibility.

As far as exhibits being shown, artist-in-residence Takahiro Iwasaki’s “Nature of Perceptions,” through Dec. 4, features wooden models that look like glitching architectural models with interlocked pagodas floating in space, on top of an upside-down version of themselves.

Next up, opening Dec. 16, is “Masterpieces in Miniature: The Art of Netsuke Sculptures,” featuring miniature carvings called netsuke, which are personal fashion accessories worn on the sash of a man’s kimono and reflect the ingenuity of their craftspeople with designs filled with spirit, astounding detail and entertaining style, Kato said.

The garden encompasses 12 acres with eight separate garden styles and includes an authentic Japanese tea house, meandering streams, intimate walkways and a spectacular view of Mount Hood.

“This is a place to discard worldly thoughts and concerns and see oneself as a small but integral part of the universe,” publicity says. It’s a place of inspiration, serenity, tranquility and aestheticism of nature.

Hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesdays-Mondays.

More: japanesegarden.org.