Tokyo - BONUS: Tokyo in the Bay

In this bonus “walk,” we’re putting Tokyo in its maritime context. From an automated, elevated train, we see how the city has expanded into the bay, providing space for business and attractions; a new home for the fish market; but also for recreation and everyday life.

We start at Shimbashi Station, where the first rails were laid in Japan, which is now the starting point for the “black-headed gull” line. It first takes us south, past a surviving shogunal garden, surrounded by the new building, as the mainland inches remorselessly into the bay; then out over the Rainbow Bridge. We pass some 19th-century forts, designed to protect the city from foreigners, and some early 20th-century districts built close to the shore, but all now dwarfed by the huge artificial islands reclaimed from the sea. We get off the train at Odaiba, and make our way down to the beach, then along the boardwalk to the Statue of Liberty. Back on the train, we make a loop, past hotels and a cruise terminal, newish museums, and more offices. We glimpse the container port and bigger bridges further out, before heading back towards the city, past the convention centre, a tennis park, and the new central markets, where the world’s tuna come to be priced. We end the walk at Toyosu Park, looking back to the city, surrounded by non-descript offices, hotels, apartment buildings, and shops. It’s easy enough, given the anonymity of the architecture, to believe that the action is elsewhere. But the park is full of kids, who are bringing it to life. Maybe the future of Tokyo is here.

You can follow the walk on this map: bit.ly/3pHSxf4

And you can find the full transcript here: bit.ly/3JTcgzi

See a sneak peek on TikTok: tiktok.com/@walkhistoricity and Instagram: instagram.com/WALKHISTORICITY

WRITER AND PRESENTER: Angus Lockyer

PRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic

This series was supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation. Find out more at: gbsf.org.uk

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