#2- The Portland Japanese Garden
This is post #2 of my 101 cool Portland places.
One of the first places I visited when I moved to Portland was The Japanese gardens. It was a misty day and the ambiance moody yet peaceful. My friends and I walked around for a couple of hours and we were all impressed with the beauty it had to offer.
The Portland Japanese Garden, located in the hills of west Portland, is notable for its peaceful atmosphere and attention to detail that will have visitors thinking they are in Japan. In fact, in a study done by the Journal of Japanese Gardening, it was ranked first out of 300 Japanese gardens outside of Japan and is widely considered to be one of the most authentic.
Designed by Professor Takuma Tono in 1963, the garden is split into five smaller gardens all of which combine to represent the earth. The most formal of these is the large Flat Garden it is full of evergreens contrasted with a sea of sand that is arranged to evoke the four seasons The largest of the five is Strolling Gardens it houses an antique five-tiered pagoda lantern given to Portland in 1963 by Sapporo, its Sister City in Japan. The Tea Garden is notable in that everything about it is design to make the Tea Ceremony as harmonious as possible. The Natural Garden is full of lush plant life growing amidst flowing streams and bridges. By contrast the Sand and Stone Garden offers the simplicity of stones set in raked sand it is similar to those typically found in Zen Monasteries.
Located in the Arlington Heights neighborhood, the garden covers 5.5 acres and offers numerous hiking trails. Portland Japanese Garden offer numerous events throughout the year including numerous art exhibits and yearly Japanese festivals. Hiking is restricted to trails and unfortunately visitors will have to check their pets and cell phones at the door. Summer hours are 12-7 PM on Mondays and 10-7 the rest of the week. Admission is $8.00 for adults, $6.25 for:seniors and students children 5 and under are free. The Portland Japanese Garden is located at 611 SW Kingston.
For more information check out their website at www.japanesegarden.com
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My introduction and education in Real Estate started back in college, 1989, in Los Angeles, California.
I chose to work with M Realty because of their top of the world technology and innovative home searching website unmatched anywhere in the US.
I enjoy meeting Portland locals and opening the door to so many different and unique homes to view. I also have been working with families relocating to Portland since day one as a licensed Portland Realtor. Having a vast knowledge of the Portland homes for sale, neighborhoods, schools, local places of interests and just an overall love for our city makes this job more of a passion.
My past working bio consisted of other interests within public relations:
An Astronomy educator for NASA and the Griffith Observatory.
President/CEO of AIRTIME BOARDS snowboard company.
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In my spare time I enjoy watching my beautiful boy grow, camping where you can\'t see civilization, giving star talks under a clear night sky, The White Album, brewing my own organic blueberry wine and Organic gardening. I have been living off of my Organic fruit and vegetable garden for the last 25 years. I don\'t go produce shopping for 8 months of the year. I also have some of the most healthiest and happiest chickens from which I get fresh eggs daily.
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