Mississauga.ca - Residents

Like a tranquil lake of serenity at the heart of busy Mississauga, Kariya Park lies calmly in the city core, with the famous Civic Centre clock-tower easily glimpsed through the greenery.

The park was officially opened in July 1992, honouring the eleventh anniversary of our twin-city relationship with Kariya, Japan.

It is a legacy to future generations, and will mature with age like its array of rhododendrons, pine, gingko and sweetgum trees, remaining a peaceful haven from the bustle of city life as Mississauga grows around it.

In Honour of Our Sister City
Kariya, Japan is a busy city of 132,000 people, located fifteen kilometres southwest of Nagoya, between Kyoto and Tokyo. Since 1981 Mississauga and Kariya have enjoyed a sister-city relationship, exchanging friendship and cultural delegations.

The park design was truly an international affair! Designed in 1989 by Mississauga city staff landscape architects, the master plan was reviewed in consultation with their counterparts in Japan before construction began in order to ensure the flavour of Japan was captured.

The City of Kariya symbol can be viewed in various areas of the park. It includes a wild goose (kari) about to take flight and a figure eight (ya), both symbolic of future development. The open area above the figure eight indicates vibrant activity. The combination of the two symbols produces the city's name of Kariya.

The park's various features are being phased in as funding becomes available. When the project is complete it will encompass several different forms of Japanese garden. Initially, meandering walkways lead visitors in and around a quiet pond and hill garden and through a stroll garden with shrubbery, rocks and low flowerbeds. A pavillion at the north end of the park and a dry courtyard garden round out the development to 2001.

Proudly Canadian
At the heart of one of Canada's most proudly multicultural cities, Kariya Park is a permanent testimony to Mississauga's relationship with our sister city in Japan.

A colony of Kariya's official city flower, the beautiful lavender-hued Iris laevigata or rabbit-ear iris, is one of the first sights greeting visitors as they enter via the gatehouse on Kariya Drive. Behind its low walls, Kariya Park will offer future generations a gentle refuge from the outside in the age-old Japanese garden style.

Kariya Park is open to the public seven days a week, 7:00 am to 9:00 pm, through the entrance on Kariya Drive, just off Burnhamthorpe Road east of the Mississauga Civic Centre. Currently, garden pathways are not cleared of ice and snow, so winter access may be limited.

For more information on Kariya Park contact Parks Operations at 905-615-4100