Special to Road Trips for Gardeners
From Portland Japanese Garden

With months of quarantine, travel restrictions, and a new way of living, it’s no wonder we’re all looking for ways to cope in the age of COVID-19.

Getting away to a Japanese garden like Portland Japanese Garden might be just the answer you need.

• Experience another country without taking a flight – Transport yourself to Japan by visiting a Japanese garden to see an authentic tea house and hear the distant clunk of a bamboo shishi odoshi, or deer chaser.
• Being outside is healthy – There’s increasing evidence that being outside is the safest way to get out of the house while staying healthy and socially distanced.
• It will be your most popular Instagram post – With the picturesque bridges, meandering paths, and photogenic Koi fish, it’s hard to take a bad photo at a Japanese garden. Your followers will thank you for not posting another photo of your #dinnerathome.
• Water Under the Bridge – One day we can say that about 2020. But for now, walking over bridges helps the mind and body move forward.
• Zig Zag Bridges Offer Different Perspectives – Life looks different when you turn a corner and look from another perspective.
• Japanese gardens are designed for every season – So no matter when you go, it’s always looking its best.
• Embracing Wabi Sabi – This Japanese concept of seeing the perfection in the imperfection is especially helpful as we’re trying to deal with everything from home schooling to home hair coloring.
• They’re relevant in this age of racial reckoning – Many Japanese gardens, like Portland Japanese Garden, were established in the U.S. after World War II as a way for two cultures to come together on common ground. They promote the importance of an open heart, tolerance, and mutual understanding.

Portland (Oregon) Japanese Garden is a nonprofit organization founded in 1963 as a place for cross-cultural understanding following World War II. The Garden is considered the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan and the foremost Japanese cultural organization in North America. For information on visiting this garden, go online. Note that Oregon’s governor mandates face coverings in all indoor and outdoor spaces.

Other Japanese gardens in the United States include Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, Illinois; Central Washington University Japanese Garden in Ellensburg, Washington; Delaware Park Japanese Garden in Buffalo, New York; Fort Worth Japanese Garden in Fort Worth, Texas, and Wells Japanese Garden in Newberry, South Carolina.

(Photos courtesy of Portland Japanese Garden)