The oldest park in Osaka, opened in 1873. The area is bustling all year round, with the cherry blossom festival held under the cherry blossoms in full bloom in the spring, the Sumiyoshi Festival (Natsugoshi Taisha Shrine) held at the adjacent Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine in the summer, and New Year's shrine visits. Originally, it was within the precincts of Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, where the shrine's horse paddock was located, and the current ``Shiokakemichi,'' which runs from east to west through the center of the park, was also the Omotesando of Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine. Takatoro, which stands facing National Route 26, is said to be Japan's oldest lighthouse, built at the end of the Kamakura period as a gift to Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine (the current lighthouse was restored in 1972). In the past, the sea approached all the way to the west side of the park, and the scenery in front of Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine facing the sea was called the ``Sumiyoshi pattern,'' a typical landscape of white sand and blue pine trees that is considered to be a scenic spot in Japan. It has been written about in many Japanese poems. At the east entrance of the park, there is a monument with a poem written by Basho on September 13, 1694, when he visited the Takara no Ichi ritual at Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine.