Ohori Park

 

Ohori Park is a huge park in central Fukuoka with a large pond at its centre.

Hori literally means moat, and the pond was originally the outlet of the Kusakae River which had been engineered to become the outer moat of Fukuoka Castle, the ruins of which are still next door in Maizuru Park.

With a circumference of 2 kilometers, the path encircling the pond is very popular with walkers, strollers, and joggers.

The pond is bisected by long bridges that connect to the three small islands in the pond.

When a Chinese-style gazebo was moved here from the zoo in 1949 the notion that the park was modelled on West lake in China began to take hold, though the designers of the park and all early literature never mentioned it.

There children's play areas, a waterside cafe, a Noh Theatre, rental boats, and a traditional Japanese garden. Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio visited on their honeymoon.

When I visited it was an overcast day in April. For photo in full sunshine see this earlier post.

The previous post on day 74 of my Kyushu Pilgrimage was on the delightful Japanese Garden in the park.