Shirakawa Park, Nagoya

Shirakawa Park is a lively urban green space that brings together some of Nagoya’s most important cultural attractions. It is home to both the Nagoya City Science Museum and the Nagoya City Art Museum. The park itself features fountains, flower beds, trees, sculptures, and contemporary art installations.

The Nagoya City Science Museum occupies the northern part of the park and is easily recognized by the enormous silver sphere housing its planetarium. Surrounding the museum are several outdoor landmarks that are worth exploring. As you face the museum, the Francis turbine stands to the left. This full-scale hydroelectric turbine illustrates the generation of renewable energy. On the opposite side, to the right of the museum, stands Wings of Mexico, a bronze sculpture by Mexican artist Jorge Marín depicting a human figure with a pair of monumental wings. Directly in front of the museum is the park’s large central fountain.

On the eastern side of the park stands the Nagoya City Art Museum, surrounded by sculptures and landscaped areas. Its collections and temporary exhibitions cover a wide range of modern and contemporary art. To the southwest of the museum is the Water Monument, a stepped cascade where water flows over a series of stone terraces, creating one of the park's most distinctive landscape features. Nearby stands Flower Spirit, a graceful bronze sculpture by Takafuji Shizuo depicting a female figure, while several other contemporary sculptures are scattered throughout the surrounding lawns and pathways.