A serene, beautiful place to visit. We were fortunate enough to visit on a dry day. The blossom display was all but over but it didn't matter. The plantings are all beautiful. Don't forget your camera! The walk up from the parking lot wasn't a problem for us. It's not too far at all. If you're very unfit or infirm... more

We visited the gardens for the first time this past Friday. This is a very nice place to spend a couple of hours enjoying the beauty of the gardens and the serenity and calm of the place. You will have beautiful views from the gardens since they are situated on a hill in Washington Park. This is not to miss... more

Every time I travel to Portland, Oregon I visit this beautiful place. I remember one particulat rainy day, when I had the whole place for myself, something that made me feel like I was really at piece with myself and the world. Each garden (there are 5 of them, from the natural and almost wild to the very stylized and... more

We first visited The Portland Japanese Gardens in September 2004. The trees were barely changing colors and it was a warm day. We parked in the lot at the bottom of the hill and climbed the path up, through the trees, looking back and down as we went. Unless you have an impairment, the walk up should not be too... more

The gardens are located at the top of a steep drive so we took the free bus to the entrance. We opted for the self-guided tour as we had just missed the guided tour and didn't want to wait for the next one. At the entrance we were given a leaflet with a suggested route round the gardens and an... more

The gardens are beautiful and the guided tour fantastic. However, the staff was rude and clueless. The shuttle bus did not run. This left about 20 elderly people waiting for over 30 minutes not realizing it was not coming. The staff did not seem to think it was important to leave a note. Another staff member was ready to escort... more

The guided tour is a must for the first visit. The Garden is visual poetry. It is an ambiguity of scenes of plantings, watrer and rocks. Turn about and the door you just entered is another window. A sensual experience for all senses.. more

I took my parents there a few months back (Oct 2003), and upon my mother's insistence, we opted for the guided tour. My dad and I were not too excited about the guided tour at first, but we soon learned that the only way to experience the gardens for the first time is with the guide. Otherwise, to the untrained... more

I don't know if we went to the gardens at the wrong time of the year (fall 2001) but there was nothing blooming. Everything was very green but everything in Portland is green. It was quite a hike just to get up to the garden though we could have waited 15 minutes for a shuttle bus to pick us up... more