Tsurumai Park Nagoya

Tsurumai Park (Tsurumai Koen) 鶴舞公園、名古屋

Hanami in Tsurumai Park is great...until it starts raining.

A sudden and constant downpour dampened the spirits of thousands of cherry blossom revelers at Tsurumai Park at the weekend.

Tsurumai Koen cherry blossom hanami in the rain

Tsurumai Park is the most lively spot in Nagoya for cherry-blossom viewing and the boisterous, drunken atmosphere is similar to Maruyama Park in Kyoto.

All human life is here: students, salarymen, street sellers, musicians, office ladies, hookers, gangsters, gay cruisers, bosozoku, karaoke crooners, homeless, police officers, performers, foreigners and of course, lots of drunks.

During the cherry-blossom season partying goes on pretty much 24/7, with some people camping out overnight to be sure to bag a spot to place their blue tarpaulin.

The rain, though, does drive away all except the very hard core or very drunk.

Rose Garden with roses in full bloom

Lotus Pond at Tsurumai Koen, Nagoya

Tsurumai Park Attractions

Besides the cherry blossoms in spring there are lots of other reasons to visit Tsurumai Koen. There are quite a few restored historic structures dating from the 10th Kansai Area Prefectural Union Joint Exposition. These include the Sogakudo Bandstand and the Fountain Tower both designed by architect Teiji Suzuki.

Also created at this time were the Kochogaike (Butterfly Pond) in the shape of a butterfly and the wooden Suzuna Bridge that formed part of a large Japanese garden. The Suzuna Bridge has been remade in concrete after the original wooden one was removed by the Occupation Forces after World War II. The original Japanese garden has been restored and is delightful.

Nagoya Civic Assembly Hall

The Rose Garden is also very popular when the roses flower. They stand alone or climb over lattice work. At the eastern end of the park is an iris pond, a lotus pond and the Sakonotaki (Sako Waterfall) flowing into another, quite large lake. The water for the waterfall originally came from the cooling process of a nearby beer brewery until 2000. The fountain is named after a president of the brewery - Tsunenaka Sato.

Sports facilities at Tsurumai Koen incude a "Baby Golf" course suitable for young kids, a baseball diamond, tennis courts and facilities for soccer and rugby. These can be booked at the Koen Annai Center next to the Baby Golf near the main entrance adjacent to JR Tsurumai Station.

The large Tsurumai Central Library is also in this part of the park close to the station. Nagoya Civic Assembly Hall (名古屋市公会堂; Kokaido), which was built in 1930, is also located within the park.

The Fusenkinendan (鶴舞公園普選壇) is an outdoor stage erected in 1928 to commemorate the promulgation of the Common Election Law in 1925. It was sponsored by the local Chunichi Shimbun and donated to Nagoya city. The architect was Sato Koichi who was responsible for several public buildings in Japan including the Tochigi Prefectural Office in Utsunomiya.

Viewable from the park is the large Nagoya University Hospital. Just outside is the Hachimanyama Burial Mound, the largest circular burial mound in Aichi Prefecture. It is tree covered and rises to a height of 10 meters.

Fountain Tower

Kochogaike (Butterfly Pond)

Access - Getting There

Tsurumai subway station (Exit 4) on the Tsurumai subway line or JR Tsurumai  Station on the Chuo Line. JR Tsurumai Station is the next stop from Kanayama Station with Nagoya Station the stop before Kanayama.

Tsurumai Park offers a number of attractions as well as the cherry trees. These include a large children's playground with swings, various slides and climbing frames. Furthermore the park boasts a pretty rose garden, an Renaissance-style wrought-iron band stand and a small sports stadium for baseball and other sports.

Iris Pond

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