Yamaguchi Prefecture has several parks with large play structures, spread across cities that are far apart. This guide compares five of them: one each in Yamaguchi City, Ube City, Shunan City, Iwakuni City and Shimonoseki City. It lines up the play equipment, parking, hours, closed days and fees from each park’s official pages, and says which ones you can reach without a car. Park names are followed by the Japanese name you will see on signs and maps.
In short
- Refresh Park Toyoura is the only one of the five that lists an entry fee (¥210 for an adult). Yamaguchi Kirara Expo Memorial Park, Yamaguchi Ube Fureai Park and Resonac Eigenzan Park are listed as free to enter.
- The largest play areas by official count are Kirara-land at Kirara Expo Memorial Park (128 items) and the inclusive play area at Yamaguchi Ube Fureai Park (58 items).
- Yamaguchi Ube Fureai Park is 400 m on foot from JR Kusae Station on the Ube Line. The other four are mainly reached by car.
- Refresh Park Toyoura is closed on Wednesdays. Kirara Expo Memorial Park closes only from December 29 to January 3, and Resonac Eigenzan Park has no regular closed day.
- “Inclusive” play equipment is designed so that children with and without disabilities can play together. Three of the five parks have it.
Checked with official pages on October 5, 2026.
1. Five parks side by side
Depends on the park
The play areas are far apart, so decide which city you will be in and what time you will arrive before you choose a park. Each park sets its own hours: the Atagoyama Fukuro Park play structure is open from 07:30 or 08:00 depending on the season, while Kirara Expo Memorial Park is listed as open from 09:00 to 22:00 and Refresh Park Toyoura closes at 17:00 (16:30 from November to February).
| Park | City | Play equipment | Parking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yamaguchi Kirara Expo Memorial Park | Yamaguchi | Kirara-land: 128 items, up to 20 m high | 6 lots; fee not stated |
| Yamaguchi Ube Fureai Park | Ube | 58 items (30 main, 28 inclusive) | 133 + 440 temporary, free |
| Resonac Eigenzan Park | Shunan | Large equipment in the “Youji Hiroba”; “Yumemushi Kichi” | 169 regular-car spaces in 3 lots, plus 20 temporary |
| Atagoyama Fukuro Park | Iwakuni | 1 large owl-themed structure; 1 inclusive play area | 80; fee not stated |
| Refresh Park Toyoura | Shimonoseki | Playground in the Picnic Zone | 200, free |
2. How do I get there without a car?
Depends on the park
Yamaguchi Ube Fureai Park is the easiest. Ube City says the park is 400 m on foot from JR Kusae Station on the Ube Line, or 500 m on foot from the bus stop “Yamaguchi Ube Airport” (served by Ube City Transportation Bureau buses).
Kirara Expo Memorial Park lists two options: about 30 minutes on foot from JR Ajisu Station (Ube Line), or about 15 minutes by taxi from Shinkansen Shin-Yamaguchi Station. It also lists about 20 minutes by taxi from Yamaguchi Ube Airport. Resonac Eigenzan Park says it is 5 minutes by car from JR Shin-Nanyo Station and 10 minutes by car from Tokuyama Station on the Shinkansen. Refresh Park Toyoura says about 5 minutes by car from JR Kawatana-Onsen Station. Iwakuni City’s page for Atagoyama Fukuro Park does not give a transit route in its text, so check the city’s access map.
3. Yamaguchi Kirara Expo Memorial Park (山口きらら博記念公園), Yamaguchi City
Yamaguchi Prefecture
This park is on the coast. Its large play area, “Kirara-land” (きららんど), opened on June 4, 2025, according to the prefecture’s leaflet. The official site says it has 25 pieces of equipment with 128 items (including the air domes) and a structure up to 20 m high. The leaflet gives the plaza area as about 3,700 square meters, with 53 of the 128 items designed to be inclusive.
The plaza has four areas. “Bouken” (adventure) is mainly for school-age children, “Nobinobi” mainly for preschool children, and “Sukoyaka” is a fenced, shaded area mainly for babies and toddlers. “Hatsuratsu” has exercise equipment, mainly for adults. There are two air domes, one large and one small. They cannot be used when wet or when not inflated, and they close at 17:00. The water play plaza has 6 mist fountains, 7 frost-tree fountains and a splash pond 5 cm deep with 4 arch fountains.
The park is listed as open 09:00 to 22:00 (hours vary by facility) and is closed only from December 29 to January 3, though it can close at short notice for inspections. Entry is free, and some facilities charge a fee, according to the Yamaguchi Prefecture Tourism Federation. The official pages do not state a parking fee, so do not assume parking is free. The park has six car parks: 7,368 spaces in the north lot, 323 in the central lot, 218 in the east lot, 242 in the multi-purpose plaza lot, 205 at the large lawn and 157 at the 2050 Forest, for regular cars. They open at about 07:00 and are locked at 22:30. The north lot opens depending on the day’s use. The park’s map puts the play plaza next to the east lot.
A wheelchair-accessible toilet and 10 loan wheelchairs are listed by the Tourism Federation. Another play area, the “Taiyo no Oka and Trim Plaza”, has a climbing wall 12 m wide and 3 to 5 m high, a mountain net 35 m long and up to 4 m above the ground, a roller slider and a Tarzan rope. The park holds events through the autumn, so check its news page before you go.
Address: 10509-50 Ajisu, Yamaguchi City. Google Maps. Phone: 0836-65-6900 (main). The play plaza’s inquiry line is 0836-65-6903 (09:00 to 21:00).
4. Yamaguchi Ube Fureai Park (山口宇部ふれあい公園), Ube City
Ube City
The park is next to Yamaguchi Ube Airport. Its large play area was completed on May 27, 2023. Ube City says it is the first large play area in the prefecture to include inclusive equipment. The city’s leaflet gives the theme as airplanes, airports and the sky, with 58 items in total: 30 in the main structure and 28 in the inclusive area.
The main structure is about 29 m wide, 23 m deep and 12 m high, and its floors go up to about 10 m. It has roller slides, spiral slides, net floors and trampolines. The highest of its five towers is about 10 m above the ground and looks out over the airport and the lawn. The inclusive area (about 25 m by 15 m) has 3 slides you reach by a wide ramp, a spinning toy, a raised sandbox and rubber-chip paving. The leaflet says the plaza is about 1,200 square meters and holds up to about 300 people.
The Tourism Federation lists the park as open 08:00 to 21:00 and free to enter. Ube City says the play area and the park’s car park are free. Parking has 133 spaces plus 440 temporary spaces, all free; the city widened the main lot from 66 to 133 spaces in 2023. Mist showers run every day from about 10:00 to 17:00, from late May to October (planned; they do not run in some weather), and there is a drinking fountain in the play area. The city’s page does not list toilets or a nursing room for the play area.
Address: Okiube, Ube City (no street number given). Google Maps. Phone: 0836-34-8442 (Ube City Park and Green Space Division)
5. Resonac Eigenzan Park (レゾナック永源山公園), Shunan City
Shunan City
This is a general park with 18 hectares open to visitors. Its symbol is a Dutch-style windmill, “Yume Fusha” (ゆめ風車), at the top. For children, the facility list shows large play equipment in the “Youji Hiroba” (幼児広場, young children’s plaza) and “Yumemushi Kichi” (夢虫基地), which has a slide, a spider-web net and a shelter. The park pool (a flowing pool, slides and more) is open from July 21 to August 31.
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The park sets no limit on entry times and has no regular closed day, but it posts temporary closures on its news pages. The windmill is open 10:00 to 15:00 and closed on Tuesdays (the next day if Tuesday is a holiday). The Tourism Federation lists the park as free to enter. Toilets are at the Mother-and-Child Plaza, at the observation plazas and at the first car park. Pets are banned. There are no trash cans in the park, so take your trash home.
Parking: the first lot has 68 regular-car spaces and 3 bus spaces, the second lot 70, the third lot 31 and the temporary south-entrance lot 20 (09:00 to 17:00). To park a bus you must apply in advance, and the first lot can be closed in summer. By car it is 5 minutes from JR Shin-Nanyo Station, 15 minutes from the Tokuyama-nishi interchange and 20 minutes from the Tokuyama-higashi interchange.
Address: 2355-2 Oaza Tomita, Shunan City. Google Maps. Phone: 0834-63-7899 (park management office)
6. Atagoyama Fukuro Park (愛宕山ふくろう公園), Iwakuni City
Iwakuni City
The city’s own English name is “Atagoyama Fukuro Park”. The park covers 3.67 hectares (1.50 hectares of lawn) and opened on March 27, 2021. Its symbol is a large combined play structure shaped like an owl, which gives the park its name. Since March 31, 2025, it also has an inclusive play area. The city also built the park as a base for disaster response, working with the Iwakuni Medical Center and the Iwakuni Fire and Disaster Prevention Center.
The large play structure is open on a seasonal timetable. March to May: 07:30 to 19:00. June to August: 07:30 to 19:30. September to November: 08:00 to 18:00. December to February: 08:00 to 17:30. Walking and jogging are allowed outside these hours. In October, the play structure is open from 08:00 to 18:00. Parking has 80 spaces, including 2 for people with disabilities. The park has 2 toilets. A barrier-free toilet is in the building near the play structure, and its entrance is on the fire and disaster prevention center side. The city page does not say whether parking is free, and it does not list an entry fee.
Address: 1-4 Atagocho, Iwakuni City. Google Maps. Phone: 0827-29-5160 (Iwakuni City Park Facilities Division)
7. Refresh Park Toyoura (リフレッシュパーク豊浦), Shimonoseki City
Shimonoseki City
The official name is “Mori no Teien Refresh Park Toyoura” (杜の庭園 リフレッシュパーク豊浦). It is near Kawatana Onsen, and its company operator is Yasunari Komuten. The park has four zones, and the play equipment is in the “Picnic Zone”. The official site says there is play equipment “for children to play freely” there. The Tourism Federation’s feature page names a roller slide and a Tarzan rope.
Entry is ¥210 for an adult and ¥100 for an elementary or junior high school student, and free for preschool children. A person aged 65 or over pays ¥100, only if they live in Shimonoseki City or Kitakyushu City and show official proof. Groups of 20 or more pay ¥160 for an adult and ¥80 for a student. The park is closed on Wednesdays (the next weekday if Wednesday is a holiday) and from December 28 to January 4. It is open 09:00 to 17:00, and 09:00 to 16:30 from November to February.
Parking is free, with 200 spaces and room for 5 large buses. The park does not allow pets (even carried), bicycles, unicycles, roller skates, inline skates, skateboards or kick scooters. It is about 5 minutes by car from JR Kawatana-Onsen Station and about 20 minutes from the Ozuki interchange on the Chugoku Expressway, according to the Tourism Federation.
Address: 2035-9 Oaza Kawatana, Toyoura-cho, Shimonoseki City. Google Maps. Phone: 083-772-4000
8. How do I choose?
Depends on the park
- The biggest play area: Kirara Expo Memorial Park (128 items). It also has a second playground, a water plaza and a large lot, but the parking fee is not stated, so check before you go.
- By train or bus: Yamaguchi Ube Fureai Park, 400 m from Kusae Station. It also has mist showers in summer.
- A child who needs inclusive equipment: Kirara-land, Yamaguchi Ube Fureai Park and Atagoyama Fukuro Park all have it.
- An early start: Atagoyama Fukuro Park’s play structure opens at 07:30 from March to August and 08:00 from September to February.
- No fixed closed day: Resonac Eigenzan Park has no entry time limit and no regular closed day.
- A weekday outing with entry fees: Refresh Park Toyoura charges entry and is closed on Wednesdays, so plan around it.
9. Common questions
What does “inclusive” play equipment mean?
Kirara Expo Memorial Park’s leaflet describes equipment that lets children play in a walker or wheelchair, play with sound, enjoy watching if they cannot hear well, play at their own pace if moving is hard, and calm down in a quiet space. Ube City’s leaflet describes three tunnels where a child who panics, for example a child with autism spectrum disorder or sensory processing disorder, can rest quietly.
Can I use the air domes at Kirara-land in the rain?
No, not when they are wet or not inflated. They close at 17:00.
When do the mist showers run at Yamaguchi Ube Fureai Park?
Every day from about 10:00 to 17:00, from late May to October (planned). They do not run in some weather. The city asks you to take care against heatstroke and burns from the equipment.
Is English supported at these parks?
The official pages used for this guide are in Japanese, and they do not say whether staff speak English. Iwakuni City’s page has the park’s name in English. Ask the park before you go if you need help in English.
Sources (checked October 2026)
- Kirara Expo Memorial Park: Kirara-land, leaflet (PDF), Taiyo no Oka and Trim Plaza, access and parking and FAQ
- Yamaguchi Prefecture Tourism Federation: Kirara Expo Memorial Park, Yamaguchi Ube Fureai Park, Resonac Eigenzan Park, Refresh Park Toyoura and large play equipment feature
- Ube City: Yamaguchi Ube Fureai Park inclusive large play area, opening and parking, mist showers, public transport and equipment leaflet (PDF)
- Resonac Eigenzan Park: facilities, visitor guide, access and park data
- Iwakuni City: Atagoyama Fukuro Park (updated September 3, 2026)
- Mori no Teien Refresh Park Toyoura: official site
