When people think of famous sightseeing districts in Tokyo, Asakusa is usually one of the first places that comes to mind. Visitors from around the world come to see the giant red lantern of Kaminarimon and the historic temple Senso-ji . Amid all this, there is a small but familiar “Tokyo moment” that people sometimes talk about. “I meant to go to Asakusa, but I accidentally ended up in Asakusabashi .” Because the station names sound similar, visitors occasionally get off at the wrong stop. When they step out of the station, instead of a bustling tourist area they find themselves in a calm business district. Looking around, they start wondering: “Where is Kaminarimon?” There is no need to be disappointed. Asakusa is only a few minutes away by train. And there is something else. Asakusabashi itself is actually a surprisingly interesting neighborhood. It may not have many flashy tourist attractions. But the area is filled with the atmosphere of Tokyo’s old downtown, a hist...
Koshimaki buildings line the front of the Imperial Palace moat , preserving the scenic view Tokyo is a city where the old and the new manage to coexist with surprising ease. Buildings are constantly being torn down and rebuilt, yet the past is never entirely discarded. Kosimaki architecture” in Tokyo wraps modern buildings with historic facades like skirt , preserving memory while balancing urban redevelopment One of the clearest examples of this balancing act is an architectural approach affectionately—if a bit humorously—called “ koshimaki architecture .” Just as a koshimaki , the cloth wrap in traditional Japanese dress , circles the waist, a “koshimaki building”—or “skirt building” in English—shows how this architectural style is applied to an individual structure, making a modern building appear as though it has wrapped itself in an older facade. The nickname stuck because it captures both the visual effect and Tokyo’s dry sense of humor. A Skyscraper ...