Parque Masayoshi Ohira

Corredores, Country Club Churubusco, Coyoacán, 04220 Ciudad de México, CDMX

Another of the fun options that Mexico City has to offer is a (semi) authentic Japanese park in the middle of Mexico. It’s not only beautiful but it can balance your senses once you stroll down between its lush scenery, it’s also the country’s largest garden of this type. The Parque Masayoshi Ohira was built as a symbol of the diplomatic friendship that exists between Mexico and Japan. It’s located in the Country Club neighborhood, close to the CENARTS Campus, the Calzada de Tlalpan, and the Metro station “General Anaya”. It’s also close to the Churubusco film studios, and in consequence, many producers have felt tempted to use this beautiful garden that’s close by as a filming location.

The park was opened in 1942 and was called the Parque de la Pagoda (“Pagoda Park”) for many years and even after the pagoda burned down in the 1970s. In 1980 Japanese prime minister Masayoshi Ohira was the first Japanese head of state to visit Mexico, marking an improvement in bilateral relations between the two countries. Prime minister Ohira died one month after his visit and the park was renamed in his honor, the authorities also took the chance to give it a nice remodeling which included the torii gate in the middle of the lake.

The Mexican-Japanese Association, which has its headquarters west of the city, donated funds in 2014 to have the park completely remodeled again, this time they even had cherry trees on hand (typical of Japan) to be planted on the premises. In attendance was Tomonori Ohira, the grandson of late prime minister Masayoshi Ohira; as well as Akira Yamada, the then Ambassador of Japan in Mexico. Other trees that are typical to Japan and can be found at the park are maples, peonies, wisterias, and plum trees.

The park isn’t only an aesthetic (and diplomatic) asset of the city, there’s a house for the elderly there too; but really it represents a quiet and relaxing, almost zen-like, location for locals and tourists to get lost in their thoughts for a couple of hours, or hold an insightful conversation with a friend or a family member. The trees, the bridges, and the small waterfalls create a soothing atmosphere that even a qualified feng-shui instructor would approve of.