A city is only as good as its greenery. Japanese city planners must have taken this idea very seriously, as witnessed by the abundance of green spots that cheer up any ever so urban environment. These little breathing spaces are called 公園 (kōen), which literally translates as “public garden,” and their existence contributes a great deal to the quality of city life.
The term 公園 includes both parks and playgrounds. As to the former, there are well-known sites such as 上野公園 (Ueno kōen, Ueno Park) or 新宿御苑 (Shinjuku gyoen, Shinjuku Imperial Gardens), to name but two examples from central Tokyo that regularly draw large crowds. Sometimes too large, it turned out this spring, when heedless cherry blossom viewers transformed some parks into COVID-19 hotspots.
More down-to-earth but no less fascinating are the playgrounds. Some may be more inviting than others, bigger, cleaner, greener, or with more exciting equipment, but they all have a few things in common.