Isahaya-Park

The Isahaya Park (Japanese谏 早 公园, Isahaya kōen ) is a park in the district of Takashiro -machi Isahaya in the Japanese prefecture of Nagasaki.

It is bordered by the river Honmyo in the north, the Takashiro Shrine (高 城 神社, Takashiro -jinja ) in the east and the railroad in the Shimabara tetsudō in the south, on the opposite side of the temple Tenryu (天佑 寺, Tenryu -ji) in the southeast and by far the greater Jōyama Park (上山 公园, Jōyama - kōen ) lie in the southwest.

He was (also called Takashiro ) during the Taishō period on the ruins of the castle Isahaya created.

The park is known for its azalea blossoms and venue of around the 10th of April the annual "Azalea Festival " (諫早 公園 つつじ 祭, Isahaya kōen Tsutsuji Matsuri ) and for the Megane Bridge (眼镜 桥, Meganebashi, dt " glasses Bridge").

Megane Bridge

The massive stone double arch bridge was built in 1839 to replace the previous bridges that have been damaged or washed away during the annual floods of the Honmyo. It was completed within 18 months after the model of Meganebashi in Nagasaki, and is 49,25 m long, 5.5 m wide and consists of 2800 stones.

On July 25, 1957 was a record flood that covered the entire city. While the bridge survived the flood with only minor damage, but it was regarded as the cause that dammed up by the that are stuck to their flotsam of the river even more and the flood had been reinforced. Therefore, the Ministry of Construction wanted to blow up the bridge. The city administration prevented this, in which they notified the bridge as a National Treasure. The request was granted in November 1958, and the Megane Bridge thus became the first stone bridge in Japan with this status. Then the bridge was converted to its present position in the park and spans a pond there today.