Kaiko Park

Kaiko¹⁾ Park is equal parts war memorial and nature park. The name holds a double meaning depending on spelling; either it is known as “sea breeze” or means “death anniversary,” but both meanings are accurate and can be used interchangeably.

The Kuvexian War between the Yamatai Star Empire and the Interstellar Kingdom Of Kuvexia took many lives and commanded much of Yamatai's attention from YE 38 to YE 43. A way to commemorate the anniversary of Victory Day, which celebrated the war's end and the heroic acts performed by the Star Army's brave soldiers was needed. From that need, Taiyou Hoshi, the captain of the YSS Kaiyō II — a ship that spearheaded the Yamataian counterattack against Kuvexia — spent millions to anonymously fund and build the park. Construction and landscape architecture on it was finished by the end of YE 44 and the park was publicly unveiled in YE 45.

The Hanami Festival was held at Kaiko Park in which the YSS Eucharis, food vendors, and traditional Yamataian entertainment made appearances alongside the quintessential falling cherry blossom petals.

In YE 46, after Ketsurui-Chinomai Minori won the race for senator of the Yamatai Star System, she thanked her supporters in Kaiko Park²⁾.

Located on the eastern edge of Kyoto's Riverside District, Kaiko Park sits nestled between to the namesake river of the Ketsurui Clan and the ocean on the far Eastern edge of the city. Due to this, a sea breeze rises from the ocean and caresses the park air with a pleasant aroma of salty sea air, lending to the park's name.

Its extensive walking trails are ideal for Kyoto residents and tourists who would enjoy a stroll through a lush and well cultivated oasis. For members of the military, the handful of tributes to the Kuvexian War sprinkled throughout the park are a static testament to the heroic acts that saved Yamatai.

Lining the park's exterior is a high stone wall over which the wide-spreading canopy of beech trees peek over invitingly in a secondary insular perimeter. Kaiko Park's main entrances are to the West and South of the park, though there are more smaller entrances on all sides save for the East, which edges up to the ocean and provides spectacular views of the great blue waters of Kyoto Bay and and the Sea of Coriolis beyond. A train station that sits on the border of the Western entrance on Bellflower Boulevard is built in old-fashioned Yamataian architectural practices and lays adjacent to a long row of ginkgo and cypress trees, giving those waiting for the train to leave the feeling that they are still inside the lush nature park.

Each major entrance has wide stone paths lined with towering pine trees that represent renewal and a bright and hopeful future. In the center of each entryway's first few steps are circular pillars with the Yamataigo names of the park etched into their surfaces. For those entering the park, it reads “sea breeze park” (海気) and when you are leaving, it reads “death anniversary” (回忌). There are kiosks with maps of the park's trails, drinking fountains, and stone basins filled with timely items (candies during Candy Festival Of YE 44, handheld bamboo kadomatsu for Year-End, sparklers during Children's Day, omamori charms, and other small trinkets).

From the Western entrance there is a very large open area (large enough to park a Fuji-class Expeditionary Gunship) directly after the entryway. This is the designated space for stalls, attractions, and floats to be brought in and placed during holidays. This large expanse of green grass is surrounded by jutting pines and cypresses as well as seven monolithic pillars of stone that represent Legion 777, which interceded Kuvexian war efforts in Yamatai's aid. To the Southeast of this junction a Warm and Sweet with traditional pagoda style architecture sits against an even more Easterly lake. To the North and Northwest is dense tree cover, where most of the heavily forested walking paths are located.

A few steps down a main trail to the South of this open grassy area leads to an enclosed circular wisteria grove with a large golden plinth. Atop it is a Zesuaium Fuji-class starship with the name YSS Kaiyō II and the IRN 501 clearly etched into the top of its hull, about the size of a cubic foot. Before it is a plaque that reads, “A testament to the YSS Kaiyō II's bravery on the Kuvexian frontlines. Other ships went out but none of them went so far or for so long into enemy territory, bringing the fight to the Interstellar Kingdom.” The arbor is made up of iron arches that dome upwards in a lofty encasement which the climbing plants wrap around. It is not so densely covered to block out the sun while still lending shade to those below. There are some benches to the side of the memorial and white camellias peek from behind the trellises in the wisteria's off season.

From all entrances sprawl walking paths in several directions. Some cut through man-made crests and hills, peaceful in their monotone verdancy. Others in the North of the park wind their sprawling earthen trails underneath a canopy of one of the dozen tree varieties in the park. A large stretch of trail is enveloped by the towering cypress, a sturdy conifer whose leaves in the summer release a potent fragrance. Like the cypress, most of the trees in this park turn fiery oranges in the Autumn before Kyoto snows. One of the most dazzling examples of such are the large swaths of ginkgo trees whose bright yellow and uniquely shaped leaves are a wonder to walk under.

Not every walking trail has such solid tree cover, though. Some of them run through long stretches with carefully tended round bushes, stout twisting hinoki cypress, or sole bonsai, ornate in their elegance, to the sides or behind fences beside the footpath. Stone lanterns affixed with timed lights turn on at sunset on these paths, leading the way to intermittent grottos or small open pagodas, which include benches or central statues. To the side of some walking paths are floating rock structures with no identifications as to their purpose, adding an air of mystery and suspension of disbelief to the nature of the park.

The largest lake in the park has several celestial objects that raise from it around which fountains of water splash. The golden stars of varying sizes and shapes represent the Battle Of Glimmergold, the end to the war with Kuvexia. Solid Volumetrics create a signage that raises out of the water every few moments and ascends, sometimes still dripping wet, into the sky that reads: “Mistress Taisho Yui who led the heroes and allies of Yamatai to victory!” In the center of the lake is a statue of Ketsurui Yui, who allied with the Essians and led the Yamataians to victory at Glimmergold. The gold nude statue has her raised arms stretch upwards and water cresting at her feet. There are many ponds and lakes within the park, some of which have stone pathways over their watery tops while more are moss-laden and with small microflora living within their fertile grounds. Birds from all over Yamatai make a meal in these carp-laden waters and are welcome guests.

Next to one such pond where the Southern entrance forks and open up to two different trails is another large memorial to the Kuvexian War. A golden statue of a Nekovalkyrja with an intense gaze, bellflowers behind her ears, and her sword pushed to her chest raises in the air from a chalky stone wall. She is Ketsurui Aiko, the face of the Kuvexian War, the warrior Yamataians most often saw fighting during the Kuvexian War as YINN and SANDRA frequently held specials of her ship's exploits. Her capture was a major punch to the fighting spirit of many, but her courage and will to resist led to her freedom, with which the end of the war at the Battle of Glimmergold followed soon thereafter. Juxtaposed intensely with the verdant greens of the park, the harsh white stone she stands atop is meant to emphasize the importance of the Star Army of Yamatai personnel who fought in the Kuvexian War whose names line the monumental wall. Anyone who served and cannot be publicly recognized has an etched bellflower in place of their name. The trail to the left leads to the YSS Kaiyō II grove and Battle of Glimmergold lake. That to the right leads to the ocean cliffs and the memorial there.

The ocean cliffs are in some places cordoned off from public access with well placed fauna or small wooden fences, but most of them are safe enough for people to walk to their edge and feel the full brunt of the sea air on their person. The cliffs have small trails cut into their weather-worn grooves that can lead to the beaches below. Generally the cliffs to the North of the park are rockier and less approachable while those in the center and South have the most resplendent views. It is at one of these lookouts that there is a memorial shrine made out to the lives lost in the Third Battle Of Nataria in the form of a large mound in the earth shaped like a keyhole. In front of the burial mound is a gilded cylinder that juts from the earth with the Yamataigo name of the event vertically etched into its surface. On this visitors will hang flowers or chains of other sorts or they may place tributes to the forever dead next to or near the raised, golden funerary object.

Outside of the park's Western entrance is a station with rail lines to and from other parts of Kyoto, Central Uesureya, Uesureyan Fields, and Pagoda No Uesureya.

The people in the Riverside District are generally very well off. Some of them have houses that overlook the South side of the park and like to exercise or simply enjoy their time in Kaiko Park. The locals add a relaxed air to the sometimes touristy park.

It would be a really good location for open holiday RPs, one-on-one relaxing, or some soul-searching.

• The native roosting flock of crows chase out any Ke-O9 T.O.R.I., that's why there are none in the park.
• Under the water in one of the ponds is a secret alcove with a treasure that the YSS Kaiyō found on one of its adventures.
• Before every Year-End Traditions Ketsurui Aiko visits the park and holds a nightly vigil in one of the private tea houses.
• There was supposed to be a statue of Taiyou Hoshi but it would have ended up being too small in stature to be noticed from afar.

The private teahouse has an incredible stock of fresh cuts of meat, vegetables, fruit, and treats on top of the yakitori grills meant for in-house cooking. It has mats and bedding for sleeping over as well as a tiny attached onsen, making it more like a ryokan or inn than a straightforward teahouse. Those that ask about staying here that have a Kuvexian War Service Ribbon will be discreetly vetted by Hoshi before being allowed to to spend a night in the inn overlooking the water.

Ametheliana created this article on 2022/12/10 17:49.

Art generated by Wes using Midjourney (commercial license).

This article was approved by Wes here!

This article was voted Best Setting Submission of 2022 by SARP's members.