is a large public, urban park

Urban park

An urban park, is also known as a municipal park or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality...

, situated at Utsubo-Hommachi in Nishi-ku, Osaka

Nishi-ku, Osaka

is one of 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It is in the west of central Osaka , and is generally flat. 80% of the area was destroyed by bombing in World War II, and was not regenerated until the mid 1960s....

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

The park was constructed at the site of a former air field of United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

, so the land is long rectangle shape characteristic of a runway (700m x 150m). This place was one of the busiest fish wholesale market (Zakoba fish market and Utsubo dried fish market), from Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 until 1931, at that time a new wholesale market was opened at Fukushima ward

Fukushima-ku, Osaka

is one of 24 wards of Osaka city, Japan.The ward is primarily a residential quarter, but has some office buildings and a commercial district, as well as factories and wholesale businesses....

.

The Utsubo Tennis Center

Utsubo Tennis Center

The Utsubo Tennis Center is a tennis complex situated in the Utsubo Park, Nishi-ku, Osaka, Japan. The complex is the host of the annual WTA Tour stop, the HP Open . The stadium court has a capacity of 5,000 people, second court has a capacity of 500 people.-External links:...

 occupies a large area of the western part of the park. Some international tennis tournament have been held there. The most famous one is the HP Open

HP Open

The HP Open is a professional women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. The event is affiliated with the Women's Tennis Association , and is an International-level tournament on the WTA Tour...

and World Super Junior Tennis Championships.

Around the eastern part of this park, many cafes and bakery have opened after 1990. Sometimes open-air wedding are held at the rose garden. This area is becoming one of the fashionable places in Osaka city.

Facilities

• Osaka science and technology centre http://www.ostec.or.jp/
• Utsubo tennis centre http://www.utsubogroup.com/

stadium(centre court):one hard court,capacity of about 5000

sub centre court:one hard court,capacity of about 500

public:14x hard courts, 4x clay courts

• Rose garden : admission free
• wedding hall and restaurants

Activities in the park

• Rose festival : concerts, mid May at rose garden
• Flower and sculpture exhibition : from mid October to November

Access

Higobashi Station

Higobashi Station

is a train station on the Osaka Municipal Subway Yotsubashi Line in Nishi-ku, Osaka, Japan.-Connecting line:*Keihan Railway Nakanoshima Line -Layout:There is an island platform with two tracks on the second basement.-Surroundings:...

 of Metro Yotsubashi Line and Watanabebashi Station of Keihan Railway

Keihan Electric Railway

is a Japanese railway operator in Osaka, Kyoto, and Shiga Prefectures. It is known as , or .-History:Keihan started its operation between Osaka and Kyoto in 1910. It was the first electric railway to connect these two cities, and the first line on the left bank of Yodo River...

 is closest to the eastern part of Utsubo park (rose garden).
Awaza Station

Awaza Station

is a train station on the two lines of the Osaka Municipal Subway. The station is in Nishi-ku, Osaka, Japan.-Lines:*Osaka Municipal Subway**Chūō Line **Sennichimae Line -Layout:...

 of Metro Chūō and Sennichimae Line is closest to the Tennis Stadium.

External links

• Official page of Utsubo park http://www.ocsga.or.jp/osakapark/hfm_park/06utsubo/ (Japanese language)