静峰ふるさと公園, Public park in Naka, Japan
Shizumine Furusato Park is a 120,000 m² park on a hill beside Shizuka Shrine in Naka, Ibaraki. About 2,000 cherry trees grow here, mostly double-flowered yaezakura, along with plum, Somei Yoshino, azalea, hydrangea and lespedeza. The grounds also hold a waterfowl pond, a floating stage and the Shidori no Sato bathing facility.
The park came into being in 1965 when local authorities developed a hillside area near Shizuka Shrine as a public space. Over the next few years, it grew larger and took on the layout that visitors see today.
The name Shidori no Sato comes from "Shidori", written in kanji as 静織, which the Hitachi no Kuni Fudoki records as referring to weaving carried out in this area in ancient times. The park's leisure facility, Shidori no Sato, has bathing facilities.
The park is open 9:00–17:00, and until 21:00 during the evening cherry-blossom viewing period. It closes on Mondays (Tuesday if Monday is a holiday) and from 28 December to 4 January. It is a 15-minute walk from JR Suigun Line Shizuma Station, or 6 km from the Naka Interchange on the Joban Expressway.
The park's roughly 2,000 cherry trees are mostly yae-zakura, double-flowered varieties that bloom from late April to early May, later than the Somei Yoshino common elsewhere. This is why the park was chosen for the Japan Cherry Blossom Spots 100 list, and why evening viewing runs until 21:00 during the night-blossom period.
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