When my mother came to visit for just one night, we chose to spend our afternoon at the Portland Japanese gardens. The moment we walked up to the entryway we knew we had made a good decision. After a steep but beautiful walk up a winding hillside path lined with thick moss and stone markers, we were brought to the garden’s main entrance. Held within the walls were traditionally styled tea houses, sand and rock gardens, koi fish ponds and terraced water features. Each turn around a bush or tree revealed something new and harmoniously beautiful. Every inch of the gardens was serenely perfect. Water fountains trickled quietly in corners or hidden under a bush. Large colorful koi fish moved effortlessly under the glass like surface of a pond in which a waterfall found its end. Moss covered every inch of ground, a majority of the tree’s trunks and branches and could even be seen growing between the grates of water drains. Despite the few tourists we encountered, we still found it all to be a very special, relaxing and refreshing experience.
