Kyosho jutaku: Small house living in Japan

TOKYO (TR) – On one of Tokyo’s crisper mornings, ride the elevator up to the lounge on the 41st floor of the Park Hyatt building in Shinjuku and gaze in the direction of Mt. Fuji. The view will be of a nearly uninterrupted blanket of concrete and infrastructural morass that is likely unmatched anywhere in the world for its enormity and unsightliness. Blending to fill much of this scene are massive apartment buildings and smaller, block-like “mansions,” their bland concrete facades and uninspired designs resembling hospitals or penitentiaries.

Some architects, however, are in the process of adding small bits of color to this picture, both literally and figuratively. Small slivers of land that in days past may have been used for an industrial or commercial purpose are now the location of unique housing structures — a trend dubbed kyosho jutaku (micro living).

Watch the video (above) for a CBS news Sunday Morning program (May 23) that includes an interview with a Tokyo Reporter writer or read more about this topic here.

Construction team uncovers corpse in Nakameguro

TOKYO – A construction crew demolishing a former liquor store discovered a skeleton at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward.

The bones, whose sex has yet to be determined, were found beneath a heating blanket on the first floor living room of the two-floor Ikuta Liquor Shop, both a store and residence located in Higashi Yama, a ten-minute walk from Nakameguro Station. By the mid afternoon, the street in front of the decrepit wooden structure had been cordoned off by police officers.

“An investigation is now underway to determine whether it is as a result of a crime or simply due to illness,” a police officer told The Tokyo Reporter at around 10:30 p.m. “In all likelihood it is not crime-related and not a major concern.” Read more

Roppongi landmark shuts, site to be redeveloped

TOKYO (TR) – A Tokyo landmark in the nightlife quarter of Roppongi shut its doors last week, bringing an end to its reign as one of the capital’s top meeting spots.

The owners of the Almond coffee shop at the bustling Roppongi crossing decided last year that it would close from January 3rd. The two-floor cafe’s easily identifiable throwback pink and white awning and long hours (9 a.m. to 5 a.m., everyday) made it a common point of congregation for the area’s nighttime revelers. Read more

Land prices trumping cultural worth

TOKYO – Over the last century, earthquakes and bombing raids have left Tokyo with, what many would describe as, a cityscape of few long-lasting structures of architectural merit. But nowadays the elimination of such properties is increasingly becoming self-inflicted.

In October, fans of kabuki and historic architecture were saddened by entertainment company Shochiku’s announcement that it plans to demolish the landmark Kabuki-za Theater. Reconstructed twice, the theater, in Chuo ward, has been Japan’s premier home for kabuki since it was founded in 1889.

The current five-decade-old building, which achieved tangible cultural property status in 2002, will close in 2010 and be rebuilt inside a large office-theater complex by 2013. “At present, the Kabuki-za is an aging structure that is susceptible to earthquakes,” explained an email statement from Shochiku concerning the timing of the decision. “As well, taking into consideration that its facilities are not barrier-free, we decided that it would be in the best interest of our customers for us to rebuild the theater.” Read more

Site of notorious gangster playpen in Roppongi now vacant

TOKYO (TR) – Given Tokyo’s well-earned reputation as a metropolis of concrete, vacant lots typically do not stay empty for long. But the 3,800-square-meter site in Roppongi, halfway between Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Midtown, might remain fenced off and covered with dirt for some time.

The infamous TSK.CCC Terminal building formerly occupied the property until its demolition was complete in April – just one chapter in a bizarre case involving gangsters, property rights, and fraud whose roots can be traced back to Korean mobster Hisayuki Machii (“the Ginza Tiger”), who made his fortune in real estate and operated a ferry service between Japan and South Korea. Read more

The canals of Edo

TOKYO (TR) – Japan’s construction industry is renowned for its proclivity for paving over anything that does not stand still. But in terms of magnitude, today’s concrete pourers were certainly rivaled by the work of their predecessors, who cut and filled what is now Ginza into a network of canals and bridges before transforming the area into the asphalt slab it is today.

Runoff from the Tone River, which now forms a border between Chiba and Ibaragi prefectures, contributed to a marsh at the east edge of Edo Castle. With the arrival in 1603 of the Shogunate of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), who desired a steady flow of food and building products to arrive at the castle entrance, the areas to the south (today’s Ginza and Tsukiji) and further towards the Sumida River had to be developed. Read more

Tokyo underground

TOKYO (TR) – It is a typical central Tokyo intersection. Office workers shuffle out of coffee shops; cheap suit outlets troll for customers with fancy window displays; taxis and buses clog the roads from curb to median; and a construction site – as all intersections in this modern metropolis seemingly require – sits on one corner, white fencing surrounding the property.

But this intersection in Toranomon is special in a particular way: no column, scaffold, concrete mixer, or other standard evidence of work ever shows itself from behind the construction site’s enclosure. The reason can be found below – way below – ground level.

Stepping past the barrier and descending a narrow spiral staircase to a temporary platform reveals Tokyo’s literal underworld. It is a stunning 20-meter diameter concrete cylinder extending down for 40 meters. Light green hues reflecting off the smooth concrete from mounted lights fill the scene as workers move in and out of a temporary trailer and up and down the single steel-cage elevator. Read more

Shaking the industry

TOKYO – With a few strokes of his drafting pencil, architect Hidetsugu Aneha has sent the Japanese government’s bean counters into overdrive.

In 2005, Aneha was found to have falsified the earthquake-resistance data in the designs of multiple hotels and condominiums in an effort to reduce construction costs. The resulting scandal caused the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism in June to modify the approval process for the procurement of a building permit, a move which has stalled the world’s second-biggest economy.

The stricter regulations within the Building Standards Law now require a clear designation of the responsible architect and a peer review of the submitted documents, both of which have extended the approval period from the typical 21 days to 70. What’s more, sellers of condominiums now must have enough funds in reserve to accommodate 10 years’ worth of potentially defective products. Read more

Kyosho jutaku: Living large in small spaces

TOKYO (TR) – On one of Tokyo’s crisper mornings, ride the elevator up to the lounge on the 41st floor of the Park Hyatt building in Shinjuku and gaze in the direction of Mt. Fuji. The view will be of a nearly uninterrupted blanket of concrete and infrastructural morass that is likely unmatched anywhere in the world for its enormity and unsightliness. Blending to fill much of this scene are massive apartment buildings and smaller, block-like “mansions,” their bland concrete facades and uninspired designs resembling hospitals or penitentiaries.

Architects like Tokyo-based Jun Ishikawa, however, are in the process of adding small bits of color to this picture – both literally and figuratively. Small slivers of land that in days past may have been used for an industrial or commercial purpose are now the location of unique housing structures. Ishikawa specializes in mokuzo (wood) structures. Wood affords him the opportunity to implement his signature style: narrow buildings with arched roofs that resemble a one-room schoolhouse or church. Read more