I'll be travelling to Japan for two weeks right after Labor Day and am looking for help on architectural sites and things to do. I'll be staying in Tokyo, but will be venturing to other parts of Honshu during my stay.
My ever-growing list includes many of the more obvious places by well-known Japanese architects like Ando, Maki, Tange, Takamatsu, Kuma, Ban, Watanabe, Tanaguchi, etc, as well as buildings by foreign architects like FOA, Piano, Starck, Chipperfield, etc. Israel's Tokyoblog is a great help in my planning, but if anybody knows any places to go/things to do, I would love to hear about them, figuring the more I know beforehand the better.
Also, one of the buildings I would love to visit is Peter Salter's Kamiichi Pavilion in Toyama Prefecture. Does anybody know exactly where this building is, or how to get to it? Information online is pretty much non-existent.
you should check out the homeless set ups in various parks etc. Not too high brow, but I found some amazing mini cities in caves, makeshift houses and even boat launches near my old place in Kamakura. Make sure to see the temples in kamakura if you can't make it to Kyoto. Nara is also worth a trip, future cities (tokyo and yokohama versions) and the yokohama terminal by FOA.
I highly recommend making time for both less contemporary architecture and less well-known architecture. Those are all great architects you mentioned but one of the most amazing thing about Japan is that for every internatioanlly know work of architecture there are at least 10 more that are equally as good. The best way to find these projects is to just wander around, they are everywhere. Plus there are the projects that are just mind-boggling in their combinations of programs. Check out Bow-wow studio's book for maps and images of those in the tokyo area.
If you have enough time you should get out of tokyo and head down to the Kansai area (Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe). I lived down there for a year and enjoyed it much more than my trips up to tokyo. Waro Kishi's buildings in Osaka and Kyoto are great to see. Go to Nara and see the Todaiji temple and the freak urban deer wandering around the city. Go to Roanji temple in Kyoto for the rock garden and the nearby moss garden. The Ginkakuji and it's shiny twin the Kinkakuji are also good to see, mostly for the landscaping design. The majority of Ando's works are in Kansai also.
listen to Kudless, he has the plan... but here are a few things permanently imprinted on my brain from a month-long stay two years ago. life:
roppongi (tokyo) on a friday night at 10pm
tokyo subway at 5pm on a monday
shinkansen from osaka to fukuoka
walking the Gion in Kyoto
trying to gesture for directions
stay in a ryokan
trying to book a ryokan hotel
stay in a love hotel (prepare for culture shock)
go in to a pachinko parlour
take pictures of all glorious vending machines in tokyo architecture:
Jun Aoki - Louis Vuitton - Tokyo
HdM - Prada - Tokyo
Fumihiko Maki - Terrace Housing - Tokyo
Toyo Ito - Sendai Mediatheque - Sendai
Kengo Kuma - Kitakami Canal Museum - Ishinomaki (near Sendai)
Shugakuin - temple - Kyoto
Katsura Palace - temple - Kyoto (DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!)
Kiyomizu-dera - temple complex - Kyoto
Steven Holl - Nexus Housing - Fukuoka
OMA - Nexus Housing - Fukuoka
Maki - Student Center - Fukuoka
Ito - Yatsushiro Fire Station - Yatsushiro (near Kumamoto)
Kazuyo Sejima - Saishunka Ladies Residence - Kumamoto landscape
Matsushima Bay - 260 wee little islands in a bay, take a boat across it to Zuigan-Ji temple
Amonohashidate - surreal scenery walkable spit of land connecting disconnected parts. (there are virtually no other white tourists, rent a bike there for cheap)
Mt Aso - stunning colapsed volcano, if you go to the Kyusku region do not miss this. The train ride alone is worth it as the train zigzags up the edge.
Suizenji Park - disney-esque 'stroll garden' in Kumamoto
People have gone all detailed so I will offer you the following advice:
Get yourself to Kyushu and hang out in its tropical-ish climate. Amazing gorgeous hot springs. (Who needs architecture when you have that? )
Like Andrew I have been attacked by the crazy deer in Nara. That is freakish!
And when you go to department stores in major cities, do not neglect the roofs. There are often amusement parks up there with giant plush robotic animals the size of horses that you can ride for a few yen.
And if you're in a department store don't miss the basement either. Most department stores (depato, in japanese) have the most amazing supermarkets in their basements. For example, many fruits are kept under glass similar to jewelry. Just watching the employee gift wrap a lemon for you is worth the marked up prices.
Kudless: At the moment I'm driving with my friends who live in Tokyo to Kyoto and its environs for about four days. I'm looking forward to this most of all.
Mason: That's a great list! Thanks.
Susan: My friends have promised a trip to a hot spring; don't know if it's on Kyushu but I'll keep that in mind as a potential destination for it.
Just picked up Pet Architecture at Prairie Avenue. Been meaning to get that one for a while. It's such a cool idea about something that seems pretty specific to Tokyo.
Does anybody know if Toyo Ito's Tower of Winds is still standing in Yokohama? I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it was demolished in 1995, but Hiroshi Watanabe's "The Architecture of Tokyo" guidebook (2001) includes this project, though his text uses both past and present tenses, so I'm confused.
Susan Surface: My friends and I will be driving from Tokyo to Kyoto, possibly stopping in or around Nagoya for site-seeing on either leg of the trip. If you send me a photo as you mentioned, I'll try to pick up the noodle, though I definitely can't make any promises.
the tower of the winds is in very bad condition, it was thrilling to find it, but dissapointing, i dont understand why they are so careless with it, it is not in operation as i recon, i saw it, i'd swear i saw it.
i would highly recommend getting a bicycle for the 2 weeks and getting lost in tokyo, you will find the most amazing places in there, no worries its safe as hell << :ob
go to superdeluxe in roppongi, right by the mori building,
go to sendai, itsa 10 hour busride from tokyo, worth the trip
go to the back alleys of akihabara
try to navigate the sumida river
My trip was in September and I verified that Tower of Winds is still there. Like mauOne points out, it's in bad condition. At night it still looks impressive, but none of the variable lighting works, only the uplighting from below, giving it a blue-ish wash. Ito's other "Winds" project, Egg of Winds, has suffered the same fate. The video projections and lighting are not working, so it just sits there mute and depressing.
The suggestions above about the pachinko parlors, hotels and hipster areas are great. A few more are:
Go to the depachika at Halc Food near Shijuku station and mingle your way through the crowd. Pick yourself up a few pastries and rice balls. Take the time to meet the high screetchy voiced store vendor/ greeters.
Also also near the Shijuku station is a yakitori/ bar alley where if you go at 5pm you will meet the cities workers as they pick up a snack and have a few beers to wind down before heading home. The eating areas are tiny but the people you meet there are unbelievably friendly.
And get up early at 4 am to have a sushi breakfast at the Tsukiji fish market with the sushi chefts buying stock for the day. The scene is something out of a movie.
Pick up a bottle of chilled umeshu and head off to Ueno Park for a relaxing stroll.
Go to the outer edges of Tokyo and see Kasai Rinkai Park. Along the waterline you will see these amazing flower fields. There also happens to be Taniguchi Yoshio’s viewing platform and way off in the distance, the spire of Disneyland Tokyo.
Nov 18, 04 11:15 am ·
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Japan Trip - Help Requested
I'll be travelling to Japan for two weeks right after Labor Day and am looking for help on architectural sites and things to do. I'll be staying in Tokyo, but will be venturing to other parts of Honshu during my stay.
My ever-growing list includes many of the more obvious places by well-known Japanese architects like Ando, Maki, Tange, Takamatsu, Kuma, Ban, Watanabe, Tanaguchi, etc, as well as buildings by foreign architects like FOA, Piano, Starck, Chipperfield, etc. Israel's Tokyoblog is a great help in my planning, but if anybody knows any places to go/things to do, I would love to hear about them, figuring the more I know beforehand the better.
Also, one of the buildings I would love to visit is Peter Salter's Kamiichi Pavilion in Toyama Prefecture. Does anybody know exactly where this building is, or how to get to it? Information online is pretty much non-existent.
Thanks.
you should check out the homeless set ups in various parks etc. Not too high brow, but I found some amazing mini cities in caves, makeshift houses and even boat launches near my old place in Kamakura. Make sure to see the temples in kamakura if you can't make it to Kyoto. Nara is also worth a trip, future cities (tokyo and yokohama versions) and the yokohama terminal by FOA.
oh yeah, see the love hotel district (in shibuya I think), stay in a capsule hotel and check out the crazy themed bars in kabukicho.
I highly recommend making time for both less contemporary architecture and less well-known architecture. Those are all great architects you mentioned but one of the most amazing thing about Japan is that for every internatioanlly know work of architecture there are at least 10 more that are equally as good. The best way to find these projects is to just wander around, they are everywhere. Plus there are the projects that are just mind-boggling in their combinations of programs. Check out Bow-wow studio's book for maps and images of those in the tokyo area.
If you have enough time you should get out of tokyo and head down to the Kansai area (Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe). I lived down there for a year and enjoyed it much more than my trips up to tokyo. Waro Kishi's buildings in Osaka and Kyoto are great to see. Go to Nara and see the Todaiji temple and the freak urban deer wandering around the city. Go to Roanji temple in Kyoto for the rock garden and the nearby moss garden. The Ginkakuji and it's shiny twin the Kinkakuji are also good to see, mostly for the landscaping design. The majority of Ando's works are in Kansai also.
listen to Kudless, he has the plan... but here are a few things permanently imprinted on my brain from a month-long stay two years ago.
life:
roppongi (tokyo) on a friday night at 10pm
tokyo subway at 5pm on a monday
shinkansen from osaka to fukuoka
walking the Gion in Kyoto
trying to gesture for directions
stay in a ryokan
trying to book a ryokan hotel
stay in a love hotel (prepare for culture shock)
go in to a pachinko parlour
take pictures of all glorious vending machines in tokyo
architecture:
Jun Aoki - Louis Vuitton - Tokyo
HdM - Prada - Tokyo
Fumihiko Maki - Terrace Housing - Tokyo
Toyo Ito - Sendai Mediatheque - Sendai
Kengo Kuma - Kitakami Canal Museum - Ishinomaki (near Sendai)
Shugakuin - temple - Kyoto
Katsura Palace - temple - Kyoto (DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!)
Kiyomizu-dera - temple complex - Kyoto
Steven Holl - Nexus Housing - Fukuoka
OMA - Nexus Housing - Fukuoka
Maki - Student Center - Fukuoka
Ito - Yatsushiro Fire Station - Yatsushiro (near Kumamoto)
Kazuyo Sejima - Saishunka Ladies Residence - Kumamoto
landscape
Matsushima Bay - 260 wee little islands in a bay, take a boat across it to Zuigan-Ji temple
Amonohashidate - surreal scenery walkable spit of land connecting disconnected parts. (there are virtually no other white tourists, rent a bike there for cheap)
Mt Aso - stunning colapsed volcano, if you go to the Kyusku region do not miss this. The train ride alone is worth it as the train zigzags up the edge.
Suizenji Park - disney-esque 'stroll garden' in Kumamoto
enjoy.
People have gone all detailed so I will offer you the following advice:
Get yourself to Kyushu and hang out in its tropical-ish climate. Amazing gorgeous hot springs. (Who needs architecture when you have that? )
Like Andrew I have been attacked by the crazy deer in Nara. That is freakish!
And when you go to department stores in major cities, do not neglect the roofs. There are often amusement parks up there with giant plush robotic animals the size of horses that you can ride for a few yen.
And if you're in a department store don't miss the basement either. Most department stores (depato, in japanese) have the most amazing supermarkets in their basements. For example, many fruits are kept under glass similar to jewelry. Just watching the employee gift wrap a lemon for you is worth the marked up prices.
These are all great suggestions.
Kudless: At the moment I'm driving with my friends who live in Tokyo to Kyoto and its environs for about four days. I'm looking forward to this most of all.
Mason: That's a great list! Thanks.
Susan: My friends have promised a trip to a hot spring; don't know if it's on Kyushu but I'll keep that in mind as a potential destination for it.
Keep 'em coming!
oh ... and do not leave without buying the book 'Made in Tokyo' or 'Pet Architecture' by Atelier Bow-Wow.
Just picked up Pet Architecture at Prairie Avenue. Been meaning to get that one for a while. It's such a cool idea about something that seems pretty specific to Tokyo.
An addendum to my first post:
Does anybody know if Toyo Ito's Tower of Winds is still standing in Yokohama? I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it was demolished in 1995, but Hiroshi Watanabe's "The Architecture of Tokyo" guidebook (2001) includes this project, though his text uses both past and present tenses, so I'm confused.
Anybody know if it still exists?
If for some reason you happen to be going to or passing through Nagoya, there is a specific type of noodle you can only buy there that:
a) I recommend highly you bring back for yourself
b) I will pay you to bring back and mail to me. For serious.
If it is on your way I will send you a photo of the packaging so you can locate it!
Tower of Winds is gone (1995)
wyoming81: Too bad, but thanks.
Susan Surface: My friends and I will be driving from Tokyo to Kyoto, possibly stopping in or around Nagoya for site-seeing on either leg of the trip. If you send me a photo as you mentioned, I'll try to pick up the noodle, though I definitely can't make any promises.
Tower of winds? Isn't that still there? If it is the building in front of yokohama station that changes colour, it was still there in 2002.
the tower of the winds is in very bad condition, it was thrilling to find it, but dissapointing, i dont understand why they are so careless with it, it is not in operation as i recon, i saw it, i'd swear i saw it.
i would highly recommend getting a bicycle for the 2 weeks and getting lost in tokyo, you will find the most amazing places in there, no worries its safe as hell << :ob
go to superdeluxe in roppongi, right by the mori building,
go to sendai, itsa 10 hour busride from tokyo, worth the trip
go to the back alleys of akihabara
try to navigate the sumida river
dang what a journey
My trip was in September and I verified that Tower of Winds is still there. Like mauOne points out, it's in bad condition. At night it still looks impressive, but none of the variable lighting works, only the uplighting from below, giving it a blue-ish wash. Ito's other "Winds" project, Egg of Winds, has suffered the same fate. The video projections and lighting are not working, so it just sits there mute and depressing.
The suggestions above about the pachinko parlors, hotels and hipster areas are great. A few more are:
Go to the depachika at Halc Food near Shijuku station and mingle your way through the crowd. Pick yourself up a few pastries and rice balls. Take the time to meet the high screetchy voiced store vendor/ greeters.
Also also near the Shijuku station is a yakitori/ bar alley where if you go at 5pm you will meet the cities workers as they pick up a snack and have a few beers to wind down before heading home. The eating areas are tiny but the people you meet there are unbelievably friendly.
And get up early at 4 am to have a sushi breakfast at the Tsukiji fish market with the sushi chefts buying stock for the day. The scene is something out of a movie.
Pick up a bottle of chilled umeshu and head off to Ueno Park for a relaxing stroll.
Go to the outer edges of Tokyo and see Kasai Rinkai Park. Along the waterline you will see these amazing flower fields. There also happens to be Taniguchi Yoshio’s viewing platform and way off in the distance, the spire of Disneyland Tokyo.
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