Higashiyama Botanical Garden

A secret spot in Nagoya that foreigners don’t know about: recommend Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Garden

2023/9/18
Already yesterday, I visited the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Garden on this day.

This park is the largest zoo and botanical garden in Aichi Prefecture, managed by Nagoya City.

It is also located in front of the subway stations (Higashiyama Koen and Hoshigaoka), making it a convenient place to visit.

It is famous as a place for citizens to relax, but few foreigners see or know about it.

Why?

It is because, very unkindly to foreigners, almost all the signs are in Japanese only.

Many people from abroad will come here because they are interested in Japan. Few people would come to Japan to see Australian kangaroos or African lions.

Rather, they are more interested in trees nurtured in the Japanese climate, flowers and grasses that they have seen in their home country but can grow vigorously in Japan.

If you want to get to know Japan better and see how different Japanese nature is from that of your home country, then by all means visit the Botanical Garden.

1．Rout 1-2

There are two underground stations in front of the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Garden. Higashiyama Koen and Hoshigaoka.

Those who want to see the zoo should get off at Higashiyama Koen, while those who want to see the botanical garden should get off at Hoshigaoka, which is closer.

From Hoshigaoka Station, walk south up the hill and you will find the ‘Hoshigaoka Gate’. As soon as you enter from there, you are in the Botanical Garden.

This time I followed the main route, taking side streets.

Ferns grow on side roads.

Mixed oak forests in the Tokai region.　Dark!

The mountains in the area where I lived as a child were like this.

Plum trees grew after passing through a mixed oak forest.

Around the 6th century, the word ‘flower’ in Japan referred to the plum tree, but in modern Japan, the word ‘flower’ simply means cherry blossom.

Is there no consideration for foreigners if explanations are only given in Japanese?

That is why the Higashiyama Botanical Garden is not known at all to foreigners, even though it is wonderful.

I would like foreigners to visit this wonderful botanical garden.

Even during a short visit, they can feel the nature nurtured by the Japanese climate and the environment where children live surrounded by the countryside.

The picture below shows a maple tree. It has long been loved by the Japanese for its beautiful red autumn colours.

Many old temples, especially in Kyoto, are planted with maple trees, and hundreds of thousands of tourists visit them in autumn to see their beautiful autumn colours.