Higashiyama Park, Urban park in Chikusa-ku district, Japan.
Higashiyama Park spans Chikusa-ku and Tempaku-ku in Nagoya and covers about 245,000 tsubo, roughly 810,000 square metres. Its centre is the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, with the Chikusa Library, Chikusa Sports Centre and tennis courts also on the grounds. The Higashiyama Sky Tower, completed in 1989, stands within the park.
The park was founded in 1937 as part of Japan's efforts to develop public green spaces during the prewar period. This founding moment shaped the basic structure and layout that still exists today.
The park is known for a jinx: couples who row a boat here are said to break up. Around Valentine's Day, the park runs events that play on it, including free rides in the "Challenge" boat, used only at that time, and a 60-minute free service for male-female couples. The song "Kami-sama no Gohobi" by Amin on the album "In the prime" mentions the park as the hill behind their alma mater, Sugiyama Jogakuen University's Hoshigaoka campus.
The main gate is at Higashiyama Koen Station on the Higashiyama subway line; the Hoshigaoka gate is at Hoshigaoka Station on the same line. A marked walking route, the Higashiyama Ichimanpo Course, runs through the park's natural areas. The grounds straddle Chikusa-ku and Tempaku-ku.
A local belief holds that couples who take a boat out on the park's pond will break up. Around Valentine's Day the park turns this around with free rides on the "Challenge" boat, used only for the occasion, and a 60-minute free service for couples.
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