Moerenuma Park
Encyclopedia
Higashi-ku, Sapporo
is one of the 10 wards in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is directly translated as "east ward", and is neighboured to Kita-ku, Chūō-ku, Shiroishi-ku, Ebetsu, Tōbetsu.- Overview :...
, Sapporo, 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...
. The park has some playground equipment
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
, outdoor sports fields, and objects which are designed by Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi
was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces,...
, a Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
artist. Visitors can enter the park and use the parking lot for free. Construction of the park was begun in 1988, and opened in 2005. The park won a number of awards including the Good Design Award
Good Design Award
The is Japanese comprehensive design evaluation and commendation system, operated by Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization . The system has its origins in the “Good Design Selection System” instituted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Japan in 1957.The award system...
in 2002.
History
Prior to the construction of Moerenuma Park, the place has been used as a garbage reclaimed groundLand reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
since 1979. Under the Sapporo Circular Greenbelt Concept, a city planning which aims at developing the urban areas of Sapporo with greenbelt
Green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...
s and parks, the construction of the Park began in 1982. Sapporo has offered Isamu Noguchi to design the park.
Noguchi's first visit to Sapporo was in March 1988, when the place was still used as a reclaimed ground in part. Impressed with the landscape and the northern skyline, Isamu Noguchi contracted the offer from Sapporo government, and made the master plan of the park, which includes the concept of "park that is considered to be one complete sculpture". On December 30 in the same year, however, right after making a miniature model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
of the planned park, Isamu Noguchi died of heart failure in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and the park was constructed with his master plan from 1989. In 1990, land reclamation of garbage in the place was totally closed. It had 71.2 ha, and 2,736,000 tons of garbage has been carried to the place until 1990. In 1997, Moerenuma Park made a park twinning agreement with the Bayfront Park in Miami, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The park won the Good Design Award
Good Design Award
The is Japanese comprehensive design evaluation and commendation system, operated by Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization . The system has its origins in the “Good Design Selection System” instituted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Japan in 1957.The award system...
in 2002, 11th Sapporo Urban Scenery Award in 2003, and Hokkaidō Red Brick Architectural Award in 2004. The park has partly been opened during the construction, and on July 1, 2005, the entire construction was completed, although the park was initially planned to complete in 2004.
Outline
The name "Moerenuma" (Moere marsh) is derived from the word "Moyre pet" in Ainu languageAinu language
Ainu is one of the Ainu languages, spoken by members of the Ainu ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō....
, which means "a slowly flowing river". Moere marsh has already located in the place long before the park was constructed. The official name of the marsh is Shinano New River, and it is said that river was made because of perpetual river flood in the past. It currently connects to the Kariki New River. The Moere Marsh is surrounding the whole area of the park ground.
The entire area of the park is 1,888,000 m² including the Moere Marsh, coming to a total cost of 27 billion yen. The park has 120 pieces of playground equipment, about 3,000 cherry tree
Cherry Tree
Cherry Tree may refer to:* A tree that produces cherries* An ornamental cherry tree that produces cherry blossomsPlaces* Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania, a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States* Cherry Tree, Oklahoma...
s, and the parking lots house 1,500 vehicles. The construction is mainly supervised by Isamu Noguchi Foundation and George Sadao.
The biggest symbol of the park is a glass pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
located near the eastern entrance. The pyramid has a nickname "Hidamari", which means "sunny spot" in Japanese. The nickname was given in 2002, which was selected from 2,340 applications. With a floor space of 5,328 m² in total, the pyramid has 3 floors and a roof floor overlooking a large part of the park. The top floor houses the gallery of Isamu Noguchi, and the miniature model of the park is also located. A restaurant and museum shop are located in the ground floor. The pyramid has an air conditioning system to cool down inside in summer, by using snow stored in the neighbouring storage building during winter. Hidamari is also used as the place for some workshop
Workshop
A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...
s and meetings in the rooms located in the ground and second floor.
The Tetra Mound, an object with triangle stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
s (one of the creations of Isamu Noguchi) is placed in the western side, and several events have been held in the square close to the object. The Mt. Moere occupies large part of the park, and has 62 metres in height, which enables visitors to overlook the landscape of the park and northern part of the Sapporo city. More playground equipment is located near the Forest of Cherry Trees and the Moere Beach, which is a shallow pond opened during summer. A 150 metres canal, the Aqua Plaza is placed in the centre of the park, and the Sea Fountain is constructed near the canal. The fountain reaches 25 meters high when it jets out, and it is closed during winter. The monument called Music Shell is used as the musical venue, and it is shaped to imitate two shells swelling out from the ground - as the name indicates.
The park also contains sports grounds such as a tennis court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
, baseball field
Baseball field
A baseball field, also called a ball field or a baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The terms "baseball field" and "ball field" are also often used as synonyms for ballpark.-Specifications:...
and athletic field. These are opened between every April and November, and the register to use these facilities is required at the management office. Visitors also can use bicycles at a rental during a day. In winter, as some facilities in the park are closed, people can enjoy cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
in the park instead. Skiing courses are set up, which enable visitors to view objects in the park whilst skiing. Cross country skiing equipment is also lent at the office in the glass pyramid.
Located close to the Moerenuma Park, there is the Sapporo Satoland
Sapporo Satoland
is an amusement park located in Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Having an agricultural theme, Sapporo Satolando was opened in 1995. The official name of the Satoland is .- History :...
- a theme park focusing on the agriculture and one of the venues of the Sapporo Snow Festival
Sapporo Snow Festival
The is a famous festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan over seven days in February. Currently, Odori Park, Susukino, and Tsudome are the main sites of the festival. The 2012 Yuki-matsuri dates are February 6 to 12.-Overview:...
. The Sapporo Community Dome, an indoor stadium which is often used as a venue for some sports events, and the Okadama Airport
Okadama Airport
is an airport located in Okadamachō, Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, north of the city center of Sapporo. Its scheduled airline service is limited to turboprop flights to other cities in Hokkaidō: larger aircraft use New Chitose Airport, south of the city...
are also close to the park.