Nishi Park, Urban park in Aoba-ku, Japan.
Nishi Park is a 10.8-hectare urban park in Aoba-ku, Sendai, on the left bank of the Hirose River. Opened in 1875, it is the city's oldest urban park and holds about 190 cherry trees. Its grounds occupy the former samurai residence sites of the Date, Fuchinami and Ōuchi families, and the Sendai West Road now cuts through part of the park.
The park was established in June 1875 during the Meiji period, marking an early effort to create public green spaces in Japanese urban areas. This founding reflected the broader movement to introduce modern park concepts to cities across the nation.
The park's name changed from Sakuragioka Park because it lay west of the town centre; when Ryoukoku Park opened to the east, this one became Nishi Park. About 190 cherry trees make it a well-known hanami spot, and the Sakuragioka-kai society added a zoo, fountain and pond in 1928.
The park lies along the left bank of the Hirose River in western central Sendai. Omachi Nishi-koen Station on the Tozai subway line, opened in 2015, serves the park from beneath it and along Aoba-dori. The grounds run north to south, with the C60 steam locomotive and the Kokeshi Tower at the northern end.
The park's name was settled by a public vote: when Sendai expanded the grounds after the war, the Kahoku Shimpo newspaper solicited names, and most respondents backed keeping "Nishi Park". The grounds also hold a C60 steam locomotive, locomotive No. 1, loaned free by Japanese National Railways in 1969 and displayed at the north end after retiring from the Tohoku Main Line.
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