Miyashita Koen Park, Shady Yet Artistic Tokyo
by Hiroki Yanagisawa on June 28, 2010 11:30 PM
A home of self-claimed homeless artists.
A sense of shady-ness in a city. It translates into Compton in Los Angeles, South Bronx in New York City, and Shenzhen Side of LoWu in China. Once you walk into the neighborhood, you sense, "Crap, I'd better get the hell out of here ASAP."
In Japan, where its crime rate is relatively low, such experience is a rare case. But there're some locations where you can "moderately sense" this sort of ghetto-ness or shady-ness.
Nishinari Area of Osaka (featured past on EDGY JAPAN), known as a hub of day workers for a construction industry, fits to this description.
In Tokyo, perhaps Miyashita Koen Park is the place to be.
A sense of shady-ness in a city. It translates into Compton in Los Angeles, South Bronx in New York City, and Shenzhen Side of LoWu in China. Once you walk into the neighborhood, you sense, "Crap, I'd better get the hell out of here ASAP."
In Japan, where its crime rate is relatively low, such experience is a rare case. But there're some locations where you can "moderately sense" this sort of ghetto-ness or shady-ness.
Nishinari Area of Osaka (featured past on EDGY JAPAN), known as a hub of day workers for a construction industry, fits to this description.
In Tokyo, perhaps Miyashita Koen Park is the place to be.
Miyashita Koen Park is located between Shibuya and Harajuku, stretching parallel to JR Yamanote LIne and Meji Street, also known as an ally of boutiques.
What makes this area shady is the number of homeless (technically speaking, they have a home called a camping tent, pegged in the park.) inhibiting in the park. But what makes this area interesting is that many of them are self-claimed artists, creating art works from trash.
In 2009, Nike bought the park's naming right from Shibuya City, renaming its park to Miyashita Nike Park and planning to refurbish the park with Nike's expense. Though Nike is also willing to pay the Miyashita Park inhabitants to relocate, they criticized Nike strongly for "privatizing the public space", spouting anti-Nike banners and blocking the development.
Whether you are for or against the project, take a walk, and sense the nature of the park.
(EDGY JAPAN doesn't take responsibility for any harms, caused by walking the spots -- though EDGY JAPAN considers Miyashita Park safe, it just looks shady.)
What makes this area shady is the number of homeless (technically speaking, they have a home called a camping tent, pegged in the park.) inhibiting in the park. But what makes this area interesting is that many of them are self-claimed artists, creating art works from trash.
In 2009, Nike bought the park's naming right from Shibuya City, renaming its park to Miyashita Nike Park and planning to refurbish the park with Nike's expense. Though Nike is also willing to pay the Miyashita Park inhabitants to relocate, they criticized Nike strongly for "privatizing the public space", spouting anti-Nike banners and blocking the development.
Whether you are for or against the project, take a walk, and sense the nature of the park.
(EDGY JAPAN doesn't take responsibility for any harms, caused by walking the spots -- though EDGY JAPAN considers Miyashita Park safe, it just looks shady.)
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