Twin-Dome Botanical Garden (植物園 ツインドーム), Kuragaike Park (鞍ヶ池公園)

Kuragaike Park, at Yanami-chō in the city of Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, opened on 1 April 1965 as a scenic park (風致公園); the Japanese encyclopedia gives its area as about 96 hectares. The city of Toyota states that a first phase of redevelopment works was completed in March 2005. The park has since undergone a more recent renewal, called « リニューアル » on the city's page, which mentions a dedicated website and the gradual opening of new facilities. The botanical garden is listed among the facilities, with its hours.

In the photograph the park publishes, the building is a geodesic dome: a lattice of triangles forms the shell, and each triangle holds a pale panel. The dome rests on a grey concrete base, and a metal walkway runs along its left flank up to the top. In front of the entrance, on the right, a series of concrete arches forms an open gallery leading to a path paved with red bricks. A tourist guide (Yahoo Travel) speaks of « two dome-shaped greenhouses », but the photograph shows only one: the second volume is not visible.

The park's official site presents the botanical garden as a place where tropical trees spread large leaves and brightly coloured flowers bloom all year round. A post on the park's official account says that the banana plants have flowered there. The Rurubu tourist notice describes tropical trees and colourful tropical flowers all year, and Yahoo Travel refers to various tropical plants without detail.

The botanical garden lies inside Kuragaike Park, which covers about 96 hectares. The plan published on the official site places the botanical garden among fifteen numbered sites, alongside a zoo, a tourist farm, an indoor play area, a camping area and cafés. Boats operate on the pond, and the park also includes a restored old train and the Toyota Kuragaike Commemorative Hall (トヨタ鞍ヶ池記念館), devoted to the history of Toyota Motor Corporation. Entry to the botanical garden is free, according to the Yahoo travel page. In the Ministry of Land (MLIT) entry, spring, when the cherry trees are in bloom, is presented as the most appreciated season of the park. The greenhouse is presented as a place to visit all year, since its plants flower continuously according to the park's site.