Portland Japanese Garden Reopens to Public

Portland Japanese Garden Reopens to Public

by | Jun 12, 2020 | Events, Features, News

Portland, OR. The Portland Japanese Garden reopened to the public on June 11th. According to Garden leaders, it’s the first of the cultural organizations in Portland to reopen and could not come at a more important time.
Portland Japanese Garden

Using guidelines for outdoor recreation areas issued by federal and state health authorities, Portland Japanese Garden leadership says it is following best practices for guest and employee safety. Among the new safety adjustments are timed entry admissions, one-way routes through the Garden, and limiting the number of people in spaces.

Founded shortly after the end of World War II, the organization is dedicated to ideals of peace and cultural understanding. “We were established specifically to cultivate inner peace as well as peace between peoples and cultures,” said CEO, Steve Bloom. “Between the coronavirus, the economy, and the heightened awareness around pervasive racial injustice, there are a lot of personal and social challenges everyone is working through. We stand with Black Lives Matter because we recognize that people of color have borne a disproportionate share of these hardships and we reaffirm our organization’s values of inclusivity, anti-racism, and cultural understanding.” 

The Garden closed to the public March 19th just before Governor Kate Brown issued stay-at-home orders. Since then, the garden was unable to earn revenue from ticket sales, therefore temporarily laid off nearly 90% of its staff while  Through the closure, the Japanese Garden continued to post “One Minute of Serenity” videos as a way to share some much-needed calm during an uneasy time. Now with the reopening, the Garden hopes that those who are able to leave home will come back to the Garden early and often to support and sustain it. “Portland is an incredible city and places like Portland Japanese Garden are what makes it so special,” says Bloom. “We are here for the community and because of the community. It’s community support that makes our existence possible.”  

Details about Visiting:

  • Member Hours: 8:00 A.M-10:00 A.M Tuesday-Sunday 
  • Public Hours: 10:00 A.M -7:00 P.M. Tuesday-Sunday, 12:00 P.M. -7:00 P.M. Mondays 
  • Adult Admission: $18.95 
  • For information on returning to Portland Japanese Garden, visit: japanesegarden.org/reopening.  
  • To reserve a time & purchase a ticket, visit: tickets.japanesegarden.org. 

About Portland Japanese Garden:

Portland Japanese Garden is a nonprofit organization originally founded in 1963 as a place for cross-cultural understanding following World War II. A hallmark in the City of Portland, the Garden was founded on the ideals of peace and mutual understanding between peoples and cultures. Portland Japanese Garden is considered the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan and the foremost Japanese cultural organization in North America.