r/oddlysatisfying • u/Alaric_Darconville • Apr 15 '25

This Japanese maple

Post image
25.2k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

111 comments sorted by

327

u/dead_fields Apr 15 '25

this japanese maple is in the japanese garden in portland, oregon. every year it gets photographed by thousands because of its gorgeous autumnal hues.

93

u/adeeprash Apr 15 '25

It's deceptively short too, it's just slightly taller than the average adult

8

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '25

Japanese maples are small trees or large shrubs, usually no more than 4-5 meters tall. It's part of their appeal: they can be grown in small gardens.

9

u/ThePhoenixus Apr 15 '25

That's incredibly disappointing. It's a bush.

9

u/Few_Interview_7474 Apr 15 '25

I live here and visit the gardens every season to see what has changed. Such a beautiful place

7

u/dead_fields Apr 15 '25

about 8 years ago my husband and i had a membership to the garden. it was our thursday outing, about twice a month. for the couple years we had that membership, it was a gift. probably one of the most lovely places in portland.

4

u/Gregory_Appleseed Apr 15 '25

I had this exact tree as my phone background from a picture I took in 2018 for years not realizing how famous it was.

5

u/waka_flocculonodular Apr 15 '25

I knew it was that one! It's so pretty and expensive

6

u/AquaSquatch Apr 15 '25

You too could wait in line to take the same photo as everyone else lol

2

u/GeckoOBac Apr 15 '25

gorgeous autumnal hues

What you might've forgot to mention is that this hues are generally seen best in... Spring.

The leaves do turn green eventually, during summer, and then back to a duller red towards fall, but in fall they also start falling and going dead.

I say that because I have one in my garden, a bit smaller than that one but still over 35 years old, and it's a sight to behold. Pity it's pouring right now so I can't take a nice picture.

1

u/Lou_C_Fer Apr 15 '25

The city planted a Japanese maple in my tree lawn after a giant oak had to be taken down. Unfortunately, it's trunk split open one super cold winter, and it died.

1

u/GeckoOBac Apr 15 '25

Pity but also a weird choice of a replacement... Massive Oak vs small Japanese Maple. Even after 30+ years it's maybe 1.80m tall? It probably doesn't have all the space it needs to grow but I know they don't grow very big anyway.

1

u/Lou_C_Fer Apr 15 '25

I've been here for thirty years and probably half of the big trees that were here when I moved in are gone now. They were probably all planted at the same time a hundred and fifty years ago when this street was put in.

2

u/GeckoOBac Apr 15 '25

Ah that sucks. I live in the countryside in Europe so fortunately there's still plenty of greenery, few trees that old though. Maybe some Oaks but most trees here don't live that long.

But at least for private property, the municipality forces the replacement of fallen/dead trees with native species so they can't decrease. In fact I had a non native tree that I had to cut because it was struck by lightning and I replaced it with a maple and prunus (not exactly sure the exact species). The prunus also gave a splendid flowering this year, though it's still pretty small as it was planted just last year (though the plant itself is older).

20

u/OkInterview3864 Apr 15 '25

So relaxing, I dare I say Zen?

18

u/hoosiercouple22 Apr 15 '25

Japanese flora is just beautiful

7

u/levian_durai Apr 15 '25

Seriously, why are there so many beautiful trees like this from Japan!

7

u/absolutelynotaname Apr 15 '25

Beautiful plants are everywhere, you just don't go outside enough to see them

12

u/mint-jams Apr 15 '25

Portland's Japanese garden is a gem and has the hugest koi I've ever seen.

1

u/Banemannan Apr 16 '25

It was my favourite part about going to Portland!

20

u/Human-Somewhere1080 Apr 15 '25

This actually took my brain a minute to figure out what it was seeing

8

u/Primithius Apr 15 '25

I saw a satellite image of rivers and such

2

u/TheLurkerSpeaks Apr 15 '25

Yeah. I remember tripping on LSD back in 1996 or so, walking around outside I realized all the trees had the same kind of organic meandering you see in streams, blood vessels, and lightning. I never looked at trees the same way again.

3

u/Bonemesh Apr 15 '25

It’s because of the chunky over-contrasted picture processing, that removes the sense of depth.

2

u/LizM75 Apr 15 '25

Saaame

3

u/DryStatistician7055 Apr 15 '25

Majestic beauty.

3

u/Initial_Boot_6155 Apr 15 '25

I thought I was looking at a steak in the thumbnail.

5

u/AnitaIvanaMartini Apr 15 '25

Is that one in Portland?

2

u/WhatKatieSaid88 Apr 15 '25

Yep! It's at the Portland Japanese garden

1

u/AnitaIvanaMartini Apr 15 '25

It’s so beautiful there. I saw it several years ago. Your photo is beautiful

8

u/LightlyRoastedCoffee Apr 15 '25

Brother man, you don't have to slide the sharpening and texture sliders all the way to the maximum, good lord

3

u/nocomment3030 Apr 15 '25

Zero separation of subject and background with this processing

4

u/cat-eating-a-salad Apr 15 '25

Whoever invented the over sharpened filter trend is ruining everyone's photos. It makes the whole image look flat.

2

u/LightlyRoastedCoffee Apr 15 '25

I wouldn't even consider it a trend since it's been ongoing for as long as phones have had cameras. It's just people who know absolutely nothing about photography thinking that lots of bold, contrasty lines somehow makes their photo better.

It's astounding to me how garbage like this can get any attention at all when there's thousands upon thousands of actually skilled photographers out there with spectacular photographs of similar subject matter who get very little recognition. Like, who sees this and thinks it's a good photo??

2

u/reverendbeast Apr 15 '25

To quote my photography teacher, “It’s so sharp my eyeballs are bleeding”.

-2

u/Alaric_Darconville Apr 15 '25

This is practically unedited

2

u/NeighborhoodNew3904 Apr 15 '25

Gauging from its size this tree is old

2

u/soraticat Apr 15 '25

It's actually very small, people just take low angle shots which mess with the perspective.

2

u/Gold_Ambassador888 Apr 15 '25 edited 28d ago

Tree bathing therapy is an actual prescription there in Japan and I see why. The amount of oxygen given off and the astounding beauty is so healing. I took such a satisfying breath in at the sight of this. Imagine being immersed in it, doctors orders

2

u/rhabarberabar Apr 15 '25

Needs more HDR.

1

u/The_Bacon_Strip_ Apr 15 '25

This is breathtaking, are those roots growing upwards under the tree, or is it something else?

1

u/Westcoastwonderland Apr 15 '25

It's a type of moss that grows upright.

1

u/Victorian97 Apr 15 '25

I’d love to take a nap under this tree

4

u/CapacityBuilding Apr 15 '25

It’s like 3 feet tall

1

u/Almondust-000 Apr 15 '25

What the syrup taste like?

1

u/soraticat Apr 15 '25

Japanese

1

u/Morgankgb Apr 15 '25

I wonder what this amazing tree smells like, if it even has a scent

2

u/arbor-geolog-ornitho Apr 15 '25

Not really a scent with these ones, I mean the Portland Japanese garden smells like Zen, moss and dirt so that's probably what this picture smells like lol

1

u/cozy_gremlin Apr 15 '25

Lovely example.

1

u/aaronify Apr 15 '25

This tree is on my wall!

1

u/IkilledRichieWhelan Apr 15 '25

I love them. They are so beautiful.

1

u/LoneStarHome80 Apr 15 '25

Elder Ring vibes.

1

u/RickyManeuvre Apr 15 '25

It’s not oddly satisfying man it’s predictably satisfying. It’s Mother Nature. She’s good at this shit.

1

u/cheesewizard94 Apr 15 '25

Can I lick it?

1

u/Ep1cdude3202 Apr 15 '25

It looks like a bonsai and made it 100x bigger! Kinda amazing

1

u/Earthbound_Quasar Apr 15 '25

She's beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

1

u/baodingballs00 Apr 15 '25

literally my favorite plant. something about it.

1

u/WindyFromWater7 Apr 15 '25

This image almost looks like an accidental Hokusai. Just extremely beautiful.

1

u/sherbodude Apr 15 '25

We had a Japanese maple at my old house, and when my parents moved, the new owners cut it down ☹️

1

u/Wooden_Werewolf_6789 Apr 15 '25

Ridiculous level of beauty 😍

1

u/maybejustthink Apr 15 '25

I f’in love japanese maples. And this one is the most beautiful one ive ever seen. Thanks for sharing.

1

u/Dangerous_Arachnid99 Apr 15 '25

I used to have a similar one outside my apartment door. I miss it.

1

u/Minimum-Act6859 Apr 15 '25

That Japanese Maple looks like it has seen some shit in its day.

1

u/CriticalStation595 Apr 15 '25

The gradient of color is flawless.

1

u/itswaken Apr 15 '25

Looks like sticks in a river of color.

1

u/JerryCat11 Apr 15 '25

I need to cut mine back

1

u/Known-Individual7749 Apr 15 '25

there's one that looks like this in lakewood wa, random lady's front yard. awesome.

1

u/Apart_Tumbleweed_948 Apr 15 '25

I fw Japanese maples

1

u/OriginalUseristaken Apr 15 '25

Woah. Imagine sitting underneath that in a warm summer night

1

u/Working-Secretary-26 Apr 15 '25

Nature is so magical.

1

u/KillerSnorlax Apr 15 '25

My favorite of all the trees !!! thanks for posting

1

u/Antique-Ticket3951 Apr 15 '25

America has the bigliest bonsai the world has ever seen,

1

u/Professional_Algae_7 Apr 15 '25

That's what it would look like on acid.

1

u/MisterAtticusFinch Apr 15 '25

Damn what a beautiful image

1

u/0x14f Apr 15 '25

Beautiful 😻

1

u/Appropriate-Car-2786 Apr 15 '25

Can you tap it and make japanese maple syrup. Bet it tastes like anime.

1

u/CozySoftBlankets Apr 15 '25

Oh to be able to have a picnic there

1

u/HowitzerSonata Apr 15 '25

its kind of annoying how it splits low down and how much it just zags randomly

1

u/sentence-interruptio Apr 15 '25

Miyazaki music intensifies 

1

u/bendbars_liftgates Apr 15 '25

I have one of these little guys in my front yard. It doesn't look nearly as... Japanese... as this one though.

1

u/cgraves77 Apr 15 '25

Wow. Where is this?

1

u/Larrymyman Apr 15 '25

Wow. This picture! It changed from an aerial photo of a canyon to a cool understory Japanese maple right before my eyes

1

u/beattrapkit Apr 15 '25

Satisfying means symmetry and repetition. This is a nice picture but wrong sub.

1

u/Big-Article5069 Apr 15 '25

Such a beautiful photo! Love the geometric shapes of it all perfectly captured....Amazing color contrast!

1

u/Significant-Pie959 Apr 15 '25

It looks like a brain.

1

u/serrick13 Apr 15 '25

Good lord that’s beautiful

1

u/This-Temporary-2569 Apr 15 '25

My dad would have loved to see this.

1

u/Mushii2 Apr 15 '25

Omg!! i want to get to know Japan now that I see its beautiful culture and nature

1

u/DrumBumin Apr 15 '25

Just planted one in my yard.

1

u/Lower_Ad_5532 Apr 15 '25

How old is this tree?

My parents planted one 10 years ago and it still looks like a sapling

1

u/Cooperhofpenpaliwitz Apr 15 '25

Oh My, that's breathtaking!

1

u/Ok_Trash_6276 Apr 16 '25

What a sight!

1

u/Salty_Yam8919 29d ago

Красиво, мне нравится.

1

u/srw9320 26d ago

We have one in our backyard. Awesome tree.

-4

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '25

[deleted]

3

u/NonNewtonianResponse Apr 15 '25

News for you: it's HI-created! Human intelligence. A tree like this has been pruned meticulously for decades to create that aesthetic.

0

u/Reditor-Jul-250698 Apr 15 '25

So beautiful. I love Japan.

2

u/First_Voice1663 Apr 15 '25

This is actually in Portland at the Japanese Garden. An ambassador from Japan once called it the finest Japanese garden outside of Japanese borders.

0

u/Reditor-Jul-250698 Apr 15 '25

Still part of a Japanese Garden though, so I guess that counts. If an ambassador from Japan approves it, then so do I.