Stroll the gardens, explore the several exhibits, enjoy seasonal performances, and savor Japanese fare at Umami Cafe!

The Portland Japanese Garden, encompassing an area of 12 acres, features several Japanese Gardens, waterfalls, bridges, and structures, allowing visitors to experience different gardening styles and Japanese culture. The serene nature at Portland Japanese Garden is further complemented with various exhibits, seasonal performances, and amazing views of Mount Hood.

The Eight Gardens Of Portland Japanese Garden: Each garden styled according to a distinct gardening style practiced in Japan offers an entirely different landscape and experience as you meander from one garden to another.  

• Entry Garden: The Entry Garden is the first garden at the entrance of the Portland Japanese Garden, welcoming visitors with the views of a cascading pond and a stone pathway lined with towering ancient trees.
• Strolling Pond Garden: The largest of all gardens, the Strolling Pond Garden comprising two ponds and two bridges, is a luxurious gardening style practiced in Japan. 
• Tea Garden: Showcasing a traditional Japanese tea garden decorated with stepping stones and lanterns, leading to a Tea House, the Tea Garden reflects Japanese culture and traditions.
• Sand & Stone Garden: The Sand and Stone garden designed only with gravels and stones, a minimalist garden, represents the gardening style that emphasizes the beauty of blank space.
• Flat Garden: Striking a balance between empty spaces and extravagant gardens, the Flat Garden represents a minimalist style that uses sand, gravel, and shrubs that are often molded in various shapes. The Flat Garden is also home to the Pavilion gallery, which hosts several seasonal exhibitions.
• Natural Garden: Owing to its name, the Natural Garden offers tranquil nature with a meandering pathway passing through a lush and mossy garden with a cascading creek.
• Tsubo-Niwa: This section features a style of gardening practiced in Japan during the Heian period, showcasing how small gardens were incorporated in urban settings.
• Ellie M. Hill Bonsai Terrace: Featuring the art of bonsai, the Ellie M. Hill Bonsai Terrace showcases several bonsai trees and miniaturized potted plants.

Cultural Village: Owing to its name, the Cultural Village in Portland Japanese Garden offers several opportunities to learn and experience Japanese culture through its several exhibits, artworks, structures, seasonal performances, and demonstrations. The Cultural Village is home to the Ellie M. Hill Bonsai Terrace, a Concierge desk providing information about the tours and events, and a few other buildings listed below.

• Learning Center: Also known as the Jordan Schnitzer Japanese Arts Learning Center, with a classroom, library, gallery, and auditorium, the Learning Center provides an opportunity to experience Japanese culture through its several exhibit and demonstrations. 
• Tanabe Gallery: Located inside the Learning Center, the Tanabe Gallery hosts various seasonal exhibitions in Portland Japanese Garden.
• Umami Cafe: Serving authentic Japanese fare and tea, the Umami Cafe brings Japan’s culinary experience to Portland.
• Garden Gift Shop: The Garden Gift Shop is an excellent place to buy a genuine Japanese handicraft and other items as a souvenir of the Portland Japanese Garden. 

Significant Sculptures & Structures: There’re several historically and culturally significant sculptures and structures present in Portland Japanese Garden, ranging from replicas of designs and buildings from Japan to historically important statues.

• Antique Gate: The Japanese-style entrance gate, located at the entrance of the Portland Japanese Garden, is an antique gate that was gifted to the Garden by the Japanese Ancestral Society.
• Peace Lantern: Located in the Strolling Pond Garden, the Peace Lantern is a stone lantern inscribed with the words “Casting the Light of Everlasting Peace,” a gift to Portland from the city of Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Garden since its opening in 1967.
• Sapporo Pagoda: The Sapporo Pagoda, featured in the Strolling Pond Garden, is an ancient five-tiered lantern that was a gift to Portland from the city of Sapporo, Japan.
• Moon Bridge: Located in the Strolling Pond Garden, the Moon Bridge is a Japanese-style wooden arch bridge, installed in the year 1967 and symbolizes a passage to unity and peace.
• Zig Zag Bridge: The Zig Zag Bridge, located in Strolling Pond Garden that leads to the Heavenly Falls, is a Japanese Yatsuhashi bridge, a bridge made of wooden planks forming a zig-zag pattern.