The rain held off and we had a (not too cold) visit to the Portland Japanese Garden. The group I was with learned a lot, both about Japanese gardens in general, as well as the history of our own Japanese Garden, which is touted as the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan. I heard good things about our students impressing the guides with their knowledge and behavior, which is the highest compliment I can think of.
If you are sad that you missed out on the field trip today, or would like to see the Japanese Garden in a different season, the Garden gave us enough family passes for each family to have one. It's good for two adults and four children, so please do take advantage of it. Our tour was about an hour, and we certainly didn't get to sit and properly enjoy the gardens, so I encourage you to go back.
Thank you so much to our wonderful drivers and chaperones who ensured the safety, learning, and good behavior of everyone on the trip!
While our Chinese sister city is Suzhou, our Japanese sister city is Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido. This Buddhist lantern sculpture is over 200 years old, and came as a gift from Sapporo.
This pond has a moon gazing bridge crossing it; the bridge always goes from east to west, and the north side of the bridge must have still water, so when there is a full moon, you may look in the water and see yourself with the full moon over your shoulder. Those are crane sculptures, of course.
A zig-zag bridge guides a visitor to see a new view at each turn. It slows you down and encourages you to see multiple views.
The Japanese Garden was built on parts of the zoo before it was condensed. This pond was the bear pit!
