Kanazawa Castle Park

Green Heart

The green area around Kanazawa Castle Park and its surrounding districts is called the "Green Heart." A lot of animals, plants and water disperse throughout the city from here through various routes, such as canals and trees on streets, exactly as a human heart pumps the blood around the body. This "Green Heart" is what is keeping the high level of natural preservation in Kanazawa. The Sai River, the Asano River, and their green banks and river terraces are the main corridors between the hills in the suburbs and this "Green Heart."

Stable Vegetation in the Woods

The woods in the park have many trees, such as castanopside trees, fir trees and keyaki trees. These are trees which usually remain at the very end of the vegetation "succession." Some giant trees in this park are as old as 300 years old.

The main trees are as follows: Castanopsis cuspidata (variety: sieboldii),Machilus thunbergii, Camellia japonica, Abies firma, Zelkova serrata.

Changing Vegetation in the Groves

In the groves and the forest side, there are a variety of trees and wild flowers-nettle trees, lilies, and others plants. However, these will certainly be replaced by other kinds of vegetation, because of the environmental change that they themselves will cause.

The following trees and herbs are also common: Celtis sinensis var. japonica,Zanthoxylum ailanthoides, Sasa palmata, Pleioblastus simonii,Anthriscus sylvestris, Cardiocrinum cordatum.

Cultivated Plants

There are some cultivated plants at this park, such as some cherry blossom trees and others. The grove at Hon-maru, the central enclosure, was used as the botanical garden attached to the Department of Science, Kanazawa University. Therefore, some unusual trees, such as evergreen magnolia trees and redwoods, were planted here.

The conspicuous plants are as follows: Prunus Xyedoensis,Ailanthus artissima, Acer pycnunthum, Sequoia sempervirens,Magnolia glandiflora.

Because there are so many different kinds of plants in Kanazawa Castle Park, you can enjoy the various trees and flowers throughout the year.