This park is supposed to be based on a European/French design (in general), although it has some Japanese sections as well. It's supposed to be famous for all of the roses and fountains that it has. Unfortunately as it is spring, and not summer, none of the roses were in bloom, but I can imagine how nice they'd look when the are. Perhaps another trip will be in order this summer...
Anyway, this park does indeed have a really large fountain system, both in the center of the main park, and also some really big ones going up along staircases in front of a big cafe/rest house.
There was also a little stall selling various snacks like dango, and different types of daifuku (strawberry, orange, pineapple). I decided to try the mikan (orange) daifuku, as I hadn't eaten it before. It was delicious...although I think I still like strawberry better...
Behind the rest house there is an obstacle course for kids ... which would probably be a fun activity to do as a family outing...or a field trip... In another part of the park there is also a set of 2 GIANTLY TALL slides next to a park for kids (there's a lot of little playgrounds to be found in various locations around the park). Looks like fun!
Beyond that there was supposed to be a path that went up the mountain some more to an observation point, but sadly, both of the paths to go up there were barricaded off for some reason, so I couldn't go up there... There were a couple of other lookout points, but not as high up as I imagine that one would be...
Continuing to wander around the park, there are many interesting statues and various mini gardens. Some of the mini gardens were for things such as hydrangeas and irises, but they weren't in season, so not so much to see.
This park is actually split into 2 sections, and is divided by a big road, so you have to cross a bridge to get into the other side, which they refer to as the 'botanical garden'.
On this side of the park, in the center there is a glasshouse (greenhouse) which is nice and cozy and has a little cafe on the second floor, with some yummy looking options, and some unusual ones as well (like rose juice).
There are also paths that are indicated to be good for sakura viewing or momoji (maple leaf) viewing. Neither of which are in season. Although there was this one early blooming type of sakura that I did see...but it's not really what you typically expect sakura to look like.
There was also a plum grove, which wasn't fully in bloom yet, but had some really nice blossoms nonetheless.
Overall, it was a nice, relaxing place to wander around in for a couple hours. And did I mention, there are lots of tables and chairs set up all over the park, so you could sit down, have a chat, a picnic, or just relax. Whatever suits you. I'd definitely come back here again!
I also made a little video with a lot of these pictures as well as some video clips that I took in the park. I was doing some experimenting. If you're interested (although be warned, it's about 5 minutes long), you can take a look at it here:
If the video isn't working, click here to watch it.
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