-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LANDSCAPE OF TOKYO'S GREEN NEW TOWN Campus Note No. 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________ < I AM GRATEFUL > --------------- \ ^__^ \ (oo)\_______ (__)\ )\/\ ||----w | || || Copyright (c) T. Nihei, M. Suzuki & Z. Ahmed: Permission to use, copy, and modify this document for any purpose is hereby granted. THE DOCUMNET IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHORS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES. Publisher: Nihei's Laboratory, Department of Tourism Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Edition: 1st-Mar 2022, 2nd-Sep 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction This article is an essay about a landscape in the western suburb of Tokyo (Photo 1). * We live in the western end of Tama New Town. Here we see raccoon dogs, badgers, flying squirrels, owls, bats, and woodpeckers. They remind us of old forests. This area is a Tokyo's green new town. * In this article, place names are written as they are pronounced, e.g., Minamiosawa --> Minami-oosawa [南大沢]. This is because Japanese place names are difficult to pronounce in English (even in Japanese). An exception is "Tokyo," because it is listed in English dictionaries, though it is pronounced as "Tou-kyou." #1 #1 As for Japanese place names, it is difficult to distinguish vowels such as "o," "ou," "oo," and "oh." Even for the Japanese, it is difficult to pronounce Japanese place names in Kanji characters. This is because in olden days, place names were written for privileged classes such as aristocrats and landlords who could read and write. _______________ | | | PHOTO 1 | | | --------------- Photo 1: Landscape of new town, taken from Tokyo Metropolitan University (HTTP://2242.MOOO.COM/NOTE/NTF1.JPG). Living on the hill, clouds look closer and stars look closer. Exif data (original): DateTime 2023:10:19 17:05:09, ImageLength 2992, ImageWidth 2992, ExposureCompensation -0.7EV, ExposureTime 1/100 sec, FNumber F8, FocalLengthIn35mmFilm 100.0 mm, ISOSpeedRatings 3200. II. Minami-oosawa And Vicinity Minami-oosawa is located in the western suburb of Tokyo (Fig 2). The new town area in the district was constructed in the final stage of the Tama New Town development. Minami-oosawa was planned to overcome the problems in the early stage of the Tama New Town development (UR East Japan Region, 2022). One of the planning concepts is "urban development in harmony with nature." When we take a short walk in and around the district, we can see how the new town was constructed in harmony with nature. An international student from Vietnam said that his throat was soothed by the air. _______________ | | | FIG 1 | | | --------------- Fig 1: Image of Minami-oosawa and vicinity (HTTP://2242.MOOO.COM/NOTE/ NTF2.JPG). The topography is like a palm and fingers. It is similar to the one in the north Kantou region, where I was grown up (by T. Nihei). Farmers grow chestnuts on the hills there, while apartments stand on the hills in Tokyo. My father in law who runs a company said, "So many people live in Tokyo, and if you do it normally, you will be all right." III. Walking Routes For Observation (E.g.) 1. From Tokyo Metropolitan University https://maps.gsi.go.jp/#16/35.6162/139.3780/ --> Minami-oosawa 5-choume, cherry street --> Minami-oosawa Green Park (Minami-oosawa Ryokuchi) --> Tokyo Metropolitan Oyamadairi Park --> Tank Road --> Keiou Tamasakai Station --> (Keiou Sagamihara Line) --> Minami-oosawa Station 2. From Minami-oosawa Station https://maps.gsi.go.jp/#16/35.6140/139.3797/ --> Minami-oosawa 3-choume --> Shimizu-iri Green Park (Shimizu-iri Ryokuchi) --> Nagaike Park --> Nagaike-mitsuke Bridge --> Mitsukega-oka --> Seselagi Ryokudou (greenery and stream path) --> Keiou Horinouchi Station IV. Development Of Tama New Town Tama New Town was constructed on Tama Hills (Cf. Hiraoka, 2008; Nihei, 2018). In the past, farmlands and villages were distributed in the valleys. Farmers cultivated paddy rice in the valley. They cut firewood from the woods. Coppice trees spread on the hills. During the development of the new town, topsoil was moved and the valley was reclaimed. The topography changed. The landscape of Minami-oosawa is characterized by the contrast between the hill and the valley: green spaces on the hills and housing lots in the valleys; large apartments on the hills and small apartments in the valleys; pedestrian promenades on the hills and motorways in the valleys. In Tama New Town, large apartments were constructed from the 1960s to the 1990. They are like a housing catalogue. The early apartments were designed with an emphasis on quantity and modernism (the use of concrete, steel, and glass). Minami-oosawa district and its vicinity were developed in the final stage of Tama New Town development. The apartments were designed with an emphasis on quality and post-modernism, e.g., Maisonette House, Plus-one House, Town-House, Cooperative House, and Skeleton House. And Japanese houses, once called rabbit hutches, have become larger. They consume much money and energy. V. Pedestrian Promenades Pedestrian promenades and motorways are separated in the new town of Minami- oosawa. People can walk around without worrying cars. A network of pedestrian promenades allows people to walk to any destination. Pedestrian promenades are broad, allowing people to walk side by side or push strollers slowly. According to the number of pedestrians, the most popular promenades are: (1) cherry street in front of university, (2) residential street leading to Oyamadairi Park, (3) Tank Road, and (4) shopping street in front of Minami- oosawa Station. This street is also used by residents to access public facilities (Kikuchi et al., 2023). Pedestrian promenades connect green spaces that remain on hill slopes. Green spaces make up about 30% of the new town area in Minami-oosawa district. They are distributed like green strips. Residents walk along pedestrian promenades through green spaces and refresh their minds and bodies. Japanese people, who were once called worker bees, now have time to contemplate nature (Fig 3). _______________ | | | PHOTO 2 | | | --------------- Photo 2: Deciduous oak (konara) in Tokyo's new town (HTTP://2242.MOOO.COM/ NOTE/NTF3.JPG). The woods in the new town are darker than those of northern country (Hokkaidou). In early spring, flowers of Sakaki bloom here. Sakaki is an ever-green broad-leaved tree. It is written as "tree, god" in Japanese. Exif data (original file): DateTime 2023:10:21 15:22:18, ImageLength 2992, ImageWidth 2992, Make PENTAX, ExposureCompensation -0.7EV, ExposureTime 1/60 sec, FNumber F8, FocalLengthIn35mmFilm 100.0 mm, ISOSpeedRatings 3200. VI. Green Spaces Green spaces of various sizes are distributed in Minami-oosawa district. They are the symbol of urban planning in harmony with nature. The largest green spaces are Oyamadairi Park and Nagaike Park. Both have management offices and volunteers to preserve the environment. Oyamadairi Park is located in the western end of Tama Hills. A lake was created near the ridge. It utilizes the spring of valley head. The park retains the landscape of satoyama (neighboring mountain) and provides one of the popular walking courses. Adjacent to Oyamadairi Park, Tank Road runs on the ridge. It is also a popular walking course that offers a panoramic views of Sagamihara. #2 Nagaike Park is located in the south of Minami-oosawa district. The land is a rolling hill on the border between Hachiouji and Machida cities. The park maintains natural ecosystem and traditional rural culture with the participation of local residents. Paddy fields remain only in the park. They are used for education, not for producing food or selling food. #2 About Sagamihara in the middle part of Kanagawa Prefecture and Musashino in the western part of Tokyo, they are covered with Kantou Loam (volcanic ash). The loam soil was derived from western volcanoes such as old Mt. Fuji and old Mt. Hakone. During the past 10,000 years, it accumulated one meter in Musashino, and three meters in Sagamihara (by Professor Takehiko Suzuki). VII. References Hiraoka, A. 2008. "Chizu de yomi toku nihon no chiiki henbou [Geographical changes in regions of Japan]." Ootsu: Kaiseisha. (written in Japanese) Kikuchi, T., Suzuki, T., Nihei, T., Sakamoto, Y., Miyamoto, Y. and Kobayashi, T. 2023. Shizen to kyousei suru new town no machi zukuri: Minami oosawa chiku no chousen [Development of new town in harmony with nature: the case of Minamiosawa]. "E-journal GEO," 18(2), 357-360. DOI 10.4157/ejgeo.18.357 (written in Japanese) Nihei, T. 2018. "Regional geography of Japan." Sapporo: Hokkaidou University Press. UR East Japan Region 2022. "New town jigyou no keifu [Genealogy of new town projects]." Tokyo: Urban Renaissance Agency. (written in Japanese) (END)