O-Bon is a Japanese Buddhist custom that honors the spirits of our ancestors and the deceased. Join us during the magical hours of dusk in the Garden as we pay tribute to the memory of loved ones by lighting incense and watching candles float in the Upper Pond near the Moon Bridge.

O-Bon is a special gathering for Portland Japanese Garden members only and reservations are required. Please only reserve for the number of guests covered under your membership.

This event is scaled back from years’ past, with very limited capacity of 100 guests per evening. However, all are welcome to join us via the Garden’s Instagram on Friday, 8/13 for a behind-the-scenes experience of the custom.

Below is a general program for the evening:

7:00pm | Doors open

7:00-7:30pm | Reflection time at the Tateuchi Courtyard (includes live, traditional Japanese shinobue music by Yumi Torimaru [8/13] / koto music by Mitsuki Dazai [8/14], sake & snacks for purification, incense lighting)

7:35-8:15pm | Candle floating, music, and name-reading

8:30pm | Evening concludes

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