Patrick Vierthaler
Umekoji Park
梅小路公園(朱雀の庭)
Umekoji Park is a vast park located to the west of Kyoto Station, famous for its plum blossoms in February–March. This area of Kyoto has seen significant re-development since 2012, with the Kyoto City Aquarium, the Railway Museum, and a new JR Station just next to the park being examples of this. The park itself was only constructed after 1990, on the land of a former cargo station, and opened its doors in 1995.
Within the park lies Suzaku Garden 朱雀の庭, a garden designed to commemorate the 1,200th anniversary of Kyōto’s founding. This wet-landscape strolling garden makes for a nice change to the bustling city nearby, and is particularly worth visiting during summer, when dozens of crape myrtles are in full bloom.
Admission: open year-round
Nearby places of interest: Tō-ji, Nishi Hongan-ji
Summer at Suzaku Garden.