Parque Yamaguchi, Japanese park in Pamplona, Spain.
Parque Yamaguchi is a Japanese-style park in Pamplona featuring a diverse collection of trees and plants, including Japanese cherry trees, ginkgos, oaks, and giant redwoods spread across the grounds. The site also houses the Pamplona Planetarium, which offers astronomy programs and science exhibitions throughout the year in its large projection dome.
The park takes its name from the 19 February 1980 sister-city agreement between Pamplona and Yamaguchi, the Japanese city where Navarre's patron saint Francis Xavier preached in 1549. In December 1994, to mark the pact's 15th anniversary, it was decided to add a Japanese garden to the existing park; Japanese gardeners sent from Japan drew up the plans and carried out the planting, with two more dispatched in 1996. The garden opened in June 1997, when a 40-strong delegation led by Yamaguchi mayor Shoji Sanai visited Pamplona for the ceremony.
The garden's name comes from Yamaguchi, Pamplona's sister city since 19 February 1980, a link rooted in Francis Xavier, Navarre's patron saint, who preached in Yamaguchi in 1549. The Navarrese singer Amaia, who grew up in Pamplona, named a song "Yamaguchi" after this park, her favourite, on her second album. The park also hosts cherry-tree plantings and koinobori flag raisings during Yamaguchi delegations' anniversary visits.
The park is easy to explore on foot, with pathways winding through different sections for a leisurely walk. If you wish to visit the planetarium shows, check ahead about the exhibition schedules, as programs run at various times throughout the year.
The park's name comes from Yamaguchi, the Japanese city twinned with Pamplona on 19 February 1980. The link traces back to Saint Francis Xavier of Javier, Navarre's patron saint, who preached in Yamaguchi in 1549. The Yamaguchi public library stands at the park's northern edge.
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