Our Holiday Gift Guide Helps You Shop with Purpose by Supporting Your Local Non-Profit
With the holiday gift-shopping season upon us, Portland Japanese Garden’s Gift Shop is an excellent place to find unique treasures for loved ones in your life. Here, visitors can peruse a variety of curated items that, even with a trip to Japan, might be difficult to come across. On Museum Store Sunday on November 30, shoppers receive a 10% discount, while members of Portland Japanese Garden will receive an additional 10% on top of their Member discount.
With so many intriguing items available, there’s really no way to go wrong in the Garden’s Gift Shop but to help you get started, we put together this list of some standout items that are sure to bring joy to your friends and family.
Hand-Carved Holiday Animals
Celebrate the season with these Holiday Animals, each delicately hand-carved and painted to capture the quiet beauty of Japanese craftsmanship. Their soft forms and natural warmth bring a sense of calm and cheer to any space. They are perfect for gifting or collecting; these wooden companions embody simplicity, harmony, and holiday spirit.
Matsumoto Hoji Frog and Ohara Koson Fox Holiday Cards
These charming cards are a contemporary holiday adaptation of two Japanese woodblock prints dating from 1814 to 1877. In Japanese, kaeru (frog) is pronounced the same as “to return,” making frogs auspicious charms for safe travels, renewed health, and the return of good fortune.
Luxury Chocolate Bars
Perfect for a stocking stuffer or host gift, these luxurious chocolates celebrate classic flavors with modern twists like caramelized sesame, ginger, yuzu, and matcha.
Hand-Painted Glass Ornaments
Each one of these beautifully designed ornaments is a hand-painted masterpiece created using a centuries-old reverse painting technique once reserved for snuff bottles. Inspired by Japanese woodblock prints, these luminous designs, featuring koi, blossoms, and dragons, capture the harmony of nature and arrive beautifully boxed for gifting or display.
Teacup Candles Gift Set
Handcrafted in a stoneware Japanese teacup, each soy-based candle cleans easily, allowing it to last long after your candle is spent. After you’re done enjoying the aroma of black spruce, Japanese mint, cinnamon, and rose, you use the ceramic vessel for tea!
All-Purpose Knives with Japanese Wood Handle
Hida Tool collaborates with skilled smiths across Japan to make high-quality culinary tools accessible to all. Each knife is meticulously handcrafted by a diverse group of talented craftsmen in limited quantities. The perfect gift for the aspiring chef on your list!
More About Museum Store Sunday
Launched in 2017 by the Museum Store Association, “Museum Store Sunday is a global advocacy campaign that communicates the value and importance of museum stores directly to the general public. Happening annually on the Sunday of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Museum Store Sunday laid claim to the previously vacant day of the weekend, which encompasses Black Friday, Shop Small Saturday, and further beyond Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday. This year, Museum Store Sunday happens on November 30, 2025, when over 2,200 museum stores representing all fifty states and the District of Columbia, twenty-five countries, and five continents will offer inspired shopping at your favorite museums and cultural institutions.” To learn more and to find other stores, use their store locator to discover even more one-of-a-kind finds near you or online.