Shirakawa Park (Nagoya)
Shirakawa Park is located in Sakae 2-chome, Naka Ward, Nagoya, adjacent to the Fushimi business district. As one of the city's largest urban parks, it provides a spacious green retreat amid the surrounding office buildings and commercial areas. The park serves not only as a place for residents to walk, exercise, and relax, but also as a popular venue for festivals, public events, and community gatherings.
One of Shirakawa Park's most distinctive features is its combination of natural landscapes with cultural and educational facilities. The park is home to two of Nagoya's most prominent institutions: the Nagoya City Science Museum and the Nagoya City Art Museum. The Science Museum is internationally recognized for housing one of the world's largest planetariums and is one of Nagoya's most popular destinations for families and science education. Meanwhile, the Art Museum features an extensive collection of modern and contemporary works and regularly hosts acclaimed exhibitions from Japan and abroad, making the park a unique space where science and art coexist.
Reflecting these two major themes, Shirakawa Park has been affectionately known as the "Forest of Art and Science" since 2013. The nickname appears widely in museum materials and visitor guides, symbolizing the park's harmonious blend of knowledge, culture, and nature.
The park features expansive lawns, open plazas, and sports facilities surrounded by abundant trees that create distinctive seasonal scenery throughout the year. At its center stands the park's iconic fountain, one of Shirakawa Park's best-known landmarks. Because the fountain's operating schedule and water height are often adjusted according to nearby events and visitor activity, locals have jokingly nicknamed it the "fountain that can read the atmosphere." With its elegant design and spacious surroundings, it has also become a popular location for dance videos, photography, and social media content.
On the park's southern side lies Wakamiya Odori, one of Nagoya's most prominent boulevards. Approximately 100 meters wide, the avenue is crossed by the elevated Nagoya Expressway Route 2 Higashiyama Line, while the space beneath has been developed into parking facilities and smaller urban parks. This creative use of urban space exemplifies Nagoya's approach to integrating transportation infrastructure with public recreational areas.
