Recently I had the great fortune to meet Handa Mariko, President of the Parks and Recreation Foundation, at her office near Tokyo Tower. She explained the work she does managing fourteen national parks run by the Construction Ministry, and her role as designer of the enormous Showa Kinen park in western Tokyo, on the site of a former US military base.
Then, Handa-san took me and a senior executive of Hitachi, who kindly introduced us, to Shiba koen at the foot of Tokyo Tower. Shiba koen is a traditional Japanese garden surrounding an old sake building that houses a famous tofu restaurant called Ukai. The juxtaposition of tradition and post-war modernism, the protected pine tree and the aging metal tower is magical.
Posted by febyfattah on April 1, 2010 at 4:22 am
hmm it made me remember of the tv drama Tokyo Tower. that was a great drama with powerful of the tower!
Posted by palmsundae on April 9, 2010 at 3:51 am
It’s funny how iconic Tokyo Tower became, no? Do you think Sky Tree will be that important in the next decades? I was surprised recently that even in western Tokyo, I can now see Sky Tree in the distance.