The beautiful Portland Japanese Garden (611 SW Kingston Ave., 503/223-1321, www.japanesegarden.com, 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Tues.–Sun., noon–7 p.m. Mon. Apr.–Sept., 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tues.–Sun., noon–4 p.m. Mon. Oct.–Mar., $8 adults, $6.75 seniors and college students with ID, $5.25 youth 6–17) are just up the slope from the International Rose Test Garden.

The Portland Japanese Garden is a magical five-acre Eden with tumbling water, pools of koi, bonsai, and elaborately manicured shrubs and trees. There are five separate gardens linked by winding paths: a Strolling Pond Garden, a Tea Garden, a Natural Garden, a Flat Garden, and a Sand and Stone Garden.

As much a place for meditation and contemplation as for viewing plants, the Japanese Garden was designed and constructed in the 1960s by renowned Japanese landscape architecture professor Takuma Tono. In 1988, Nobuo Matsunaga, the Japanese ambassador to the United States, stated that this is “the most beautiful and authentic Japanese garden in the world outside of Japan.”

Getting to the Portland Japanese Garden

From the International Rose Test Garden, you can walk up the short but steep road that leads to the Japanese Garden, or hop on the free open-air shuttle that climbs up the hill every 10 minutes or so.