Come see our winter decorations! They've been installed and will be up through February.
Lisa Christy and Aki Nakanishi Bring Decades of Expertise into Joint Leadership of Beloved Non-Profit Organization Portland, ORE., United States—January 16 2026—Lisa Christy, Executive Director of Portland Japanese Garden, and Aki Nakanishi, Director of Japan Institute and the Arlene Schnitzer Curator of Culture, Art, and Education for Portland Japanese Garden have been named Co-CEOs of …
Portland Japanese Garden and Japan Institute have shared that Lisa Christy and Aki Nakanishi have been named Co-CEO.
At the beginning of 2026, and after a series of events that had created a sense of unease in its home city, Portland Japanese Garden made the decision to offer free admission from 1:30 to 3:30pm on Friday, January 9 and Saturday, January 10 with the hopes that it might help bring calm and compassion to its community. We chatted with some of the people who were visiting us during this time to learn why they honored us with their presence.
On Sunday, January 11, Portland Japanese Garden celebrated O-Shogatsu, Japanese New Year. KPTV, Portland’s local FOX affiliate, visited the festivities and spoke with our guests and staff about the beloved annual tradition. The story is on their website and can also be viewed below.
2025 was an exciting and memorable year for Portland Japanese Garden! We embarked on a diverse range of incredible programming, welcomed some of the world’s most respected leaders across a variety of fields to Portland, and enjoyed the everlasting beauty and serenity of the Garden itself. The numbers that follow capture just a glimpse of the impact these experiences had on our community and beyond.
2025 was an exciting and memorable year for Portland Japanese Garden! The Garden embarked on a diverse range of incredible programming, welcomed some of the world’s most respected leaders across a variety of fields to Portland, and enjoyed the everlasting beauty and serenity of the Garden itself. Let’s take a look back at all that happened in 2025 at Portland Japanese Garden.
Portland Japanese Garden is thrilled to have been featured in several publications, radio broadcasts, and television reports throughout 2025. These stories highlighted the Garden’s everlasting beauty, world class programming, and the incredible staff, volunteers, members, and guests who bring it to life. To close out the year, we are proud to share our best media coverage of 2025
Here we present original writing crafted by Portland Japanese Garden in 2025, all imbued with the spirit of this nonprofit organization’s mission of Inspiring Harmony and Peace and aligned with its vision of cross-cultural understanding.
In October, Portland Japanese Garden was delighted to participate in a trade mission led by Oregon Governor Tina Kotek. As was reported by The Oregonian earlier in the year, Governor Kotek had traveled overseas to Japan and South Korea “to expand opportunities for trade and tourism between the state and the countries.” Included in this …