[See below for updates to this post.] As frequently written on this blog, Tokyo has really got me interested in urban development and architectural history. Two timelapse videos are great examples of why that is. First, look at how Shinjuku’s skyline took shape over the decades:
Just as the vertical skyline is characteristic of central Tokyo, so is the scrap and build cycle. So, let’s take these skyscrapers down after the break! Continue reading
With Ichibankan (“Building Number One”) and Nibankan (“Building Number Two”), Minoru Takeyama created two postmodernist icons in a part of Shinjuku that is generally known for its sleazy nighttime buzz. Its nondescript buildings usually only come to life at night when they’re illuminated by neon advertising lights. Takeyama’s towers, however, carry some of that “charm” into the daytime.
We flew to Okinawa over the new year to escape the (admittedly mild) winter here in Tokyo for a few days. The weather held up to its reputation (we even swam in the ocean!), the beaches were beautiful and the food tasty. Now back in Tokyo, it’s time for me to put up a few pictures of the trip and look back at the first three months of my blogging here.
American military plane in landing approach Continue reading
Jyo-Senji is a temple of the Hommon Butsuryu sect of Nichiren Buddhism. It can be found near Shibuya station, on the way towards Daikanyama. It was built in 1965 and stands in stark contrast to the Reiyukai temple I visited earlier. Its courtyard arrangement, with classrooms, offices and several halls, invites associations of community rather than awe and authority.
With a new government coming to power at this weekend’s election here in Japan, I thought I’d put up a shot I took of the Diet Building on Sunday. The Diet hosts Japan’s two chambers of parliament, the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. When I walk past the building, I sometimes wonder why I am not as interested in the politics of this country as I thought I’d be.
The leafy neighbourhood of Azabu is one of Tokyo’s most upscale residential districts, home to many embassies and expensive apartment blocks. It is also the site of Tokyo’s Mormon temple, or Japan’s Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Letter-Day Saints as it is formally known. It is an imposing and slightly surreal sight.
Kenzo Tange is perhaps the most famous international architect from Japan. He embodies the country’s post-war history like no other: the struggle for the country’s own identity amid the unprecedented economic miracle, the search for symbolism and spiritual space in architecture, all this (and more) can be seen in his works. I went to see his St. Mary’s Cathedral in Bunkyo Ward today.
This building occupies a special place in Tokyo’s architectural history. It is the city’s first skyscraper that got built only after tough regulation on earthquake resistance was dropped in select areas. Its 36 floors reach 147 meters in the sky. Aluminium and steel give the facade a fairly generic look. Today the building in the Kasumigaseki area of downtown Tokyo does not stand out much.
I sighted these tsumani walls made city gardens in Tsukuda (which is on a small reclaimed land island in Chuo ward, about 3 kilometers from the central station).
Somewhere in Nihonbashi:
