Tonami Tulip Park, Floral park in Tonami, Japan
Tonami Tulip Park is a municipal park in the Hanazono district of Tonami, Toyama Prefecture, centred on the tulip, the prefectural and city flower. Its 26-metre Tulip Tower, rebuilt in 2021, has a spiral staircase leading to a 138-metre elevated walkway and is topped by three tulip sculptures in red, white and yellow. The grounds also hold a pond, a five-wheel watermill, a circular flowerbed and a lawn plaza.
The park traces its origin to the Tonami Horticultural Branch of the Toyama Prefectural Agricultural Experiment Station. In 1951, after GHQ proposed closing the branch, growers and researchers opened it to the public and invited GHQ officials, who withdrew the closure plan after seeing the tulips in bloom. The first Tonami Tulip Fair was held there in 1952, and in 1964 the fair moved to the former orchard section, where the park opened.
The tulip became Toyama Prefecture's local flower on 22 March 1954, and Tonami holds its Tulip Fair each spring, first staged in 1952. In 1959 the city presented a new song, the Tulip Ondo, and since 1974 a Miss Tulip contest has been held. The park also hosts the winter KIRAKIRA Mission illumination.
The park is about 15 minutes walk from Tonami Station and easiest to reach when coming from there. Entry is usually free, though special events may require additional fees.
The park's symbol is the Tulip Tower: the first, 21.9 m tall, was built in 1972 after the designer saw the Tower of the Sun at Expo '70 in Osaka. It was replaced in 2021 by a 26 m tower topped with three tulip figures, red 'Toyama Red', white 'Shirayuki' and yellow 'Kikomachi'. The old red tulip ornament now stands in a 26.8 m circular flowerbed.
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