Kairaku Park

Kairaku Park (偕楽公園 kairaku kōen) is an old park in central Tsu that is popular during sakura season.

Name

People may get confused by this name outside of Mie. One of Japan's top three famous gardens is called "Kairaku en" (same kanji) and is located in Mito, capital of Ibaraki Prefecture.

Features

The park is hilly and has a small lake in the middle. It is historically significant as it has been around since the 1600's.

There are a large number of cherry blossom trees making it popular in April.

Events

• Hanami

  Central Tsu's biggest hanami spot. Very crowded throughout the full bloom season with plenty of food stalls set up. It is pretty but the number of trees cannot compare with the Miya River Banks.

Maps

• Google map

Directions

By Train

The park is very easily accessed by train as it is located almost immediately adjacent to Tsu (津) Station, get yourself there by either Kintetsu, JR, or the Ise Railway.

Head out of west exit (Kintetsu side) of the station. Walk away from the station (away from the train tracks). In under a minute you'll come to four-way intersection with a stop light. Kairaku Park is right there, on your left. To reach the area with all the cherry blossoms though, you'll have to walk through this area into a larger area not immediately visible.

By Car

On Route 118, which runs parallel to Route 23 near Tsu Station but runs on the Kintetsu side of the train tracks (whereas 23 is the JR side).