This Portland Oasis Has Been Called the Most Beautiful Japanese Garden in America

A Piece of Japan in Portland

High up in Portland’s West Hills sits a peaceful 12-acre garden that feels like a world away from another world.

Since 1967, this special place has mixed Japanese garden design with the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Japan’s former Ambassador Nobuo Matsunaga loved it so much that he called it ‘the most beautiful and authentic Japanese garden in the world outside of Japan.’ Here’s why it’s truly one-of-a-kind.

The Stone Garden’s Simple Beauty

From a 200-square-foot cedar deck, you can see minimalist design combined with Buddhist philosophy.

The Karesansui garden or Zen garden, features weathered stones rising from rippled sand, like islands in a sea of gravel. Green moss and pink azalea flowers grow around the edges against granite gravel.

Every morning, garden workers spend hours using traditional wooden rakes called kumade to make perfect wave patterns.

A Peaceful Pond to Explore

Two connected ponds hold gallons of crystal-clear water, with a peaceful 10-foot waterfall between them.

Special Japanese koi fish (Kohaku and Showa types) growing over two feet long, swim gracefully through the water (representing virtues such as perseverance, strength, and good fortune).

A vermillion red bridge curves over the upper pond while Yoshino cherry trees and iris beds create waves of color through the seasons.

The Tea Garden’s Hidden Treasures

Granite lanterns light the way to a traditional tea garden to the machiai which serves as a waiting area, giving tea ceremony guests a quiet place to prepare their minds. Sword ferns and soft moss carpet the ground around bamboo fences woven in the traditional neso-gaki style.

The pathway leading to the tea house, known as roji, is designed to help guests transition from the outside world to a more serene state. The Tea Garden does include a water basin (tsukubai) for ritual cleansing.

A Modern Building with Old Soul

Famous architect Kengo Kuma created the buildings at Cultural Village. The living roof full of native moss and sword ferns helps the building blend into the hill.

The interplay of light and shadow through the big windows is another sign. Inside, the gallery hosts new Japanese art exhibitions every three months. Check out the Vollum Library for its rare collection of books on Japanese art, culture, and gardening.

Where Oregon Meets Japan

The two-acre Natural Garden mixes local Oregon plants with Japanese favorites, a harmonious mix of East and West.

Giant 120-foot Douglas firs watch over delicate Japanese maples, while masses of ferns carpet the ground. Paths made from local basalt rock wind through the garden, where over 50 kinds of plants that grow well in the climate of the Pacific Northwest.

Colors Through the Seasons

Twenty Yoshino cherry trees burst with pink blossoms in March, followed by more than 30 types of bright azaleas in April in vivid pinks, reds, and whites.

Summer brings purple-blue iris flowers, while October sets the garden ablaze with 40 different kinds of Japanese maples. Even winter shows off the garden’s beauty when snow outlines 15 carefully shaped specimen trees and makes the pine branches look like art.

The Bamboo Forest

Twenty-foot tall Henon bamboo creates living walls that dance and whisper in the wind. Master craftsman Koji Matsumoto made the traditional fences using the special otome-gaki weaving style.

The bamboo grove is dense and visually appealing. When swayed by the wind, you’ll hear the soft and gentle clicking sound, natural music that helps people relax. The careful spacing of bamboo stalks also aligns with Japanese gardening principles of scaled reduction.

Learning Old Ways

The garden hosts monthly tea ceremonies led by experts from the Urasenke school and weekly bonsai shows by resident master Greg Brenden.

Watch gardeners demonstrate skills passed down through fifteen generations, including tea masters, and other practitioners of traditional Japanese arts. T

he garden hosts several other seasonal festivals throughout the year, such as Sakura Matsuri (cherry blossom festival) and Aki Matsuri (autumn festival), each celebrating different aspects of Japanese culture.

Tiny Trees with Big Stories

The garden’s most extensive bonsai collection includes the oldest 250-year-old Japanese white pine that lived through the Hiroshima bombing.

The trees are displayed on the Ellie M. Hill Bonsai Terrace and the Jubitz Oregon Terrace, following traditional rules about placement and viewing angles.

This allows visitors to see them from various perspectives and through the seasons. Sometimes you’ll catch them in a rotating exhibit.

Perfect Pictures Everywhere

The garden’s East Veranda and Pavilion Gallery offer stunning views of Mt.

Hood through shaped pine branches. Early morning mist between 8 and 10 AM makes everything look magical, while afternoon light from 3 to 5 PM creates dramatic shadows in the bamboo grove.

The garden offers views of the Cascade mountains and Portland’s skyline that change with every visit, making each photo unique.

Take Japan Home with You

The 1,200-square-foot shop sells aziome indigo-dyed textiles, hand-thrown sake vessels, delicate incense, and high-quality Japanese kitchen knives.

Basically everything that would draw you closer to Japan’s living art forms. The Umami Café within the garden offers a selection of Japanese tea while the Vollum Library offers rare guides about Japanese gardening and culture.