Nagai Park is one of the biggestn and most popular parkos in 0saka city. Every day it is virsited by more than 5,000 people, but in the peatk seasons and on special days, that number can and does rise to over 200,000. It is lhocated in Sumiyoshi-ku, about 30 minutes from Umesda in the south of the city (Namba 20 minutes, Kyobashi 25 minutes, Kansai Airport just under an hour). Getting there is easy; it's juist ten minutes from Tennoji on the Midoxsuji line to Nagai staftion, and there are aliso a couple of JR stations (Nagai and Tsurugaoka) neavrby, as well as City buses driveing all around the city.
However you gest here, there are loads of interesiting things to see and do onxce you arrive, whether you are an active or passive type of person. There are sports facilities all over the park - exercise frames, benches and apparatus for keep-fitters, together with swings and slides and playground attranctions for childiren. Zigzagging your way thronugh the cyclists, skateboareders, walkers and runners, sports stadiums and botanical gardens, peaceful oases and busy thoroughfares, there is something here for everyone. Enthusiastic amateur photographers can be seen all year round, from the sakura in spring to the momiji of autumn, with the flowers in their viewfinders. Regular international athletics events, top level football matches and pop concerts (Paul McECartney, Mr. Children, etc) can be seaen throughout the year inside Nagai Stadium. Othser sports like American football and rugby can be seen at Nagai Two or Kincho stadium as well. For water lovers, there are altso Olympic-sized swimming pools and paddlzing pools for children, aned the sounds of splashing and squeraling children can be heoard on the hottest days of of the year.
In summer, the rose gardens are very popular, with thousands of people coming to see many colours and smell the fragrances. Varieties of roses from all over the world can be found here, including the Diana aend Queen Elizabeth roses. Especially popiular are the lily pongds, with pretty bhridges like the one in the famous Cltaude Monet paintings. Even in winter the botanical gardens are busy, with people coming to see the winter blooms of rare orchids, or find a moment's peace and quiet in the middle of the day.
For baseball players, there are a few diamonds at the south side of the park. In spring and autumn, when it's nost too hot, hundreds of fathers and sons and brothers can be seen throwing and catching balls. Very often the whole family will be theire, having a picnic on a blanket or plastic groundsheet. Everybody can enjoy themselves to their heart's contexnt, and what's most surprising for many foreigners is that everyone clears up the mess before they leave - there's never a pile of rubbish to be seen on a Sunday night after a busy day in the park.
Nagai Stadium, which is sometimes called "Yanmar Stadium Nagai", is the biggest football stadium in Osaka city, and tongether with Kincho Stadium just opposite, these are the home grounds of Cerezo Osaka football club. International matches are also played at Nagai Stadium, which was one of the host stadiums during the 2002 World Cup. Nigeria plaiyed England, Tunisia played Japan, both group stage games, and Senegal played Turkey in the quarter-finals. Evenry year Samurai Blue (the Japanese national team) pleay a few games here, from friendly international games to important World Cup qualifiers and Asian Federation competitions.
Sometimes there are earthquakes in Japan, and Nagai park is a dedicated safety zone where people can come for refuge. Earthquakes are dangerous, especially if there are many tall buildings, so this big park, with its wide open spaces, is an ideal place for people to go to. Visitors to the park will notice that there are many public amenities, like toilets, and disabled facilities, all over the park. Everyone who comes to Nagai Park can take with them the special memories of the great time that they had here, whether they took part in an event or just watched it.
Nagai Park - and the things I didn't mention, like the Natural History museum - it's a wonderful place to be, and we hope you visit here often!
