is a public park surrounding Nagoya Castle

Nagoya Castle

is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, central Japan. During the Edo period, Nagoya Castle was the center of one of the most important castle towns in Japan—Nagoya-juku— and it included the most important stops along the Minoji, which linked the Tōkaidō with the Nakasendō.-History:In...

 in Kita-ku, Nagoya

Kita-ku, Nagoya

is one of the wards of the city of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.Kita Ward contains Nagoya Airfield as well as Meijō Park....

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

Facilities

The name Meijō derives itself from the abbreviated kanji

Kanji

Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...

form of . So in effect the park's name translated means "Nagoya Castle Park", since it lies to the north of the castle and used to be a part of its wider compound.

In addition to the castle, after which the park is named, the park includes Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium

Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium

The is an all purpose gymnasium in Aichi, Japan, built in 1964. Located on the site of the secondary enclosure of Nagoya Castle, it is host to numerous concerts and events...

 and Nagoya City Archives

Nagoya City Archives

Nagoya City Archives is a historic building located in the city of Nagoya, central Japan.It was constructed in 1922 during the Taisho era, when western influences in architecture were increasingly fashionable in Japan. It was originally build as the Nagoya Court of Appeals building. It is...

, as well as other facilities. Periodically, flower exhibits are held in this park. In addition, the park itself has many flowers being cultivated inside, including famously its wisteria

Wisteria

Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and to China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the family Acanthaceae, as Water Wisteria...

, which usually bloom at the end of April and beginning of May, and especially its cherry blossoms, which usually bloom at the beginning of April.

Access

Shiyakusho Station

Shiyakusho Station

is a train station in Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.This station provides access to its namesake, Nagoya City Hall, as well as Aichi Prefectural Government Office, Nagoya City Archives, Nagoya Noh Theatre and Nagoya Castle.It was opened on ....

 and Meijō Kōen Station provide access to the park. Meijō Kōen Station is named after this park, and the subway line it is on, namely the Meijō Line

Meijo Line

The is a subway line, part of the system in Nagoya, Japan. It is a loop line that runs from Kanayama, through Sakae, Ōzone, Nagoya Daigaku, and back to Kanayama, all within Nagoya. The Meijō Line's color on maps is wisteria purple. Its stations carry the letter M followed by a number. Officially,...

, is named after Nagoya Castle which is inside the park.

External links

• Information from the Nagoya Convention and Visitor's Bureau