Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo is scheduled to be demolished, needs your help

Architectural landmark will soon be gone forever, but there’s still a chance of preserving its history for the future.

Like many cities around Japan, Tokyo does a great job of preserving traditional buildings while building modern skyscrapers up around them. However, when a building isn’t steeped in centuries of cultural heritage, falling into disuse and disrepair makes for a shaky future, as the land it takes up is often viewed as being more valuable than the structure itself.

That’s the situation Tokyo’s Nakagin Capsule Tower has been in for much of the last decade. Located near Shimbashi Station, within walking distance of the fashionable Ginza district, this complex was designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa and built in 1972 as a futuristic marvel of modern architecture, housing 140 self-contained prefabricated capsule apartments designed to provide Tokyo office workers with a place to stay during the week to avoid long commutes back home.

▼ Nakagin Capsule Tower (right) is a famous architectural landmark in the capital.

Photo ©SoraNews24

However, despite its architectural acclaim, in recent years Nakagin has only managed to lease around 30 of its 140 self-contained capsule apartments to the public on a monthly basis. It’s also in need of repairs and has been fighting off threats of demolition since 2007, when the majority of capsule owners voted to tear the complex down and replace it with a more modern tower.

Kurokawa himself opposed the demolition, instead proposing that the capsules inside the complex be replaced with more modern ones, which is what the prefabricated design was made for. A number of capsule owners supported this idea, forming the “Save Nakagin Tower” project to make it happen, however, hurdles like cost and the problem of asbestos in the building proved to be too great for the project to be successful.

▼ One of the capsule apartments inside the building.

Photo ©SoraNews24

After years of fighting against demolition, these insurmountable problems now mean that Nakagin Capsule Tower is set to be demolished in March 2022. Those involved in the project still haven’t given up hope of preserving Kurokawa’s visionary design, though, as they recently set up a crowdfunding campaign in May called the “Nakagin Capsule Tower Building A606 Project“. Support for the project has been overwhelming, with backers providing enough funds to help them achieve their first target amount of 1.5 million yen (US$13,564.10) in just one week.

The project name is tied to Capsule A606, which is the specific part of the building they’re attempting to preserve. Architect Akiko Ishimaru, the project representative, lived in Nakagin for about a year in 2013, and after moving out she returned to the building in 2017 to use capsule A606 as a shared office with seven other people.

Ishimaru and the other members helped to restore capsule A606 to the way it would’ve looked in 1972 when the Nakagin Capsule Tower Building was first completed.

▼ Capsule A606

▼ The original bathroom, furniture, and equipment were also restored.

After it was decided that the building would be demolished, Ishikawa contacted the owner of capsule A606 to ask that it be taken out of the building for preservation. Mediation was concluded in the courts, with permission eventually granted for the removal of the capsule.

The project has uploaded a series of videos that show the retro appliances inside the capsule are still in fine working condition.

▼ The clock still keeps time perfectly.

▼ There’s a once-state-of-the art Sony TV…

▼ And an open-reel tape deck that’s also worth preserving.

With the paperwork complete for the handover of the capsule, the team now had to find a way to cover the costs of removing the unit from the building without damaging the exterior walls of the module. To keep costs down, Ishikawa even became a qualified asbestos removal worker, but even if she completes the work, there’s still the cost of removing the hazardous material and the removal of the unit itself that needs to be considered.

The crowdfunding project aims to help cover these costs, and the team is being transparent with every detail, providing a breakdown of the amount required for each stage of the work. Their next hurdle is securing 5 million yen to remove the capsule, and supporters have so far pledged enough to cover 2.466 million yen, with 29 days remaining on the project.

The Nakagin Capsule Tower Building A606 Project is asking for everyone’s support to help preserve an important part of Tokyo’s architectural history, either through funds or by spreading the word for assistance on social media.

After we recently lived inside one of the capsules inside the tower for a month, even without hot running water, we’ve developed a soft spot for this architectural marvel and will definitely be doing what we can to help support the campaign. Because although it’s great that Tokyo is pushing the envelope with innovative new skyscrapers, like the world’s tallest wooden tower, it’s important to ensure innovative ’70s architecture has a chance to be preserved too.

Location information
Nakagin Capsule Tower Building / 中銀カプセルタワー
Address: Tokyo-to, Chuo0ku, Ginza 8-16-10
東京都中央区銀座8-16-10
Website

Source: Ready For/Nakagin Capsule Tower Building A606 Project via Net Lab
Featured image ©SoraNews24
Insert images: Ready For/Nakagin Capsule Tower Building A606 Project unless otherwise stated
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Mysterious hand figures turn out to be our new favourite Japanese capsule toys

Confusing? Yes. Cool? Very.

There are few things better in life than the simple joy of opening up a capsule toy. The thrill as the coin slides into the slot, the wheel is turned and the capsule comes tumbling out. What treasures await inside? Will you get something tender and sweet? Or something creepy and gross?

Usually, once the capsule is opened, the adventure into the unknown ends and the rush of excitement subsides as you find out which collectable you have received. But for our Japanese-language reporter Saya Togashi, the excitement continued, as even after she paid her 300 yen (US$2.70) and opened the capsule, she was none the wiser as to what was supposed to be inside.

As Saya opened the capsule, two ghostly white hands popped out, each in an unnerving pose. What on earth had she ended up buying? Was this a capsule toy or was this a murder scene?

As she looked closer, the hands were smooth and beautiful, with intricate detail, with even the fingernails carved into them. And there was something else in the capsule too…

The capsule also contained what looked like a plinth for a statue, with ‘pigeon‘ emblazoned on it. While pigeon is a word all of our SoraNews24 readers understand, it is a pretty tough word for someone who isn’t familiar with English, and Saya was left scratching her head as to what the statue was representing.

Saya quickly figured out how to assemble the piece, thanks to the small grooves along the edge of the hands. But even as the two hands joined together, Saya was still at a loss. Just what was this figurine supposed to represent?

But as she positioned the figure in front of a light, it all became clear. An absolute textbook shadow puppet pigeon! A staple of many a childhood, the pigeon can also easily be transformed into a butterfly with just the wave of your fingers.

You see, Saya had bought a capsule toy for shadow puppet figurines.

Feeling nostalgic for her youth, Saya tried to recreate the pigeon shadow using her own hands.

▼ A pretty faithful recreation from Saya!

Pigeons are pretty much entry-level in the world of shadow puppetry, so even a child could make one. Saya wanted to challenge herself more with the next capsule toy. We’ll crop out the name of the figurine so you can try and guess what it will be, just as Saya did!

▼ Can you figure out what it is?

▼ Maybe the assembled piece might help…

▼ Ta-da!

Yes, that’s right — the second toy to come out of the machine was a goat! Saya marvelled once more at the attention to detail — the horns, the ears, the eyes — even the little goat beard. Goats are slightly higher on the difficulty scale for shadow puppetry, but Saya wanted to try it out anyway!

▼ Sadly, Saya’s attempt with her own hands wasn’t quite as crisp as the figurine.

The third and final figurine from Saya’s capsule collection started out looking like this. Can you figure out what animal it will become?

▼ How about now?

▼ Oh?

The third capsule toy was a cute little rabbit! Everything about this capsule toy was absolutely spot on, from the shape of the body right down to the nose. This was a shadow puppet move those faint of heart would never even dream of attempting.

So Saya had to give it a go.

▼ Uh…

▼ Well, you can certainly say she gave it a go.

The rabbit may be a technique that alludes both novices and pros alike, as the intricate finger positioning is quite difficult for a regular person to achieve. Even though it looks simple enough, give it a go and see how rabbit-like your creation ends up looking.

All in all, Saya had fun returning to her childhood days of shadow puppets, and is hoping to collect the whole set of five (the missing figurines being ‘wolf’ and ‘deer’). Whether you’re a shadow puppet master or just want an original and unique capsule toy to keep you amused, grab one of these and the torch from your cellphone and have some finger fun!

Photos ©SoraNews24
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From tea field to teacup: How do you make green tea from freshly picked tea leaves?

We spend a day on the farm learning how much work goes into a single cup of tea.

Most people who grew up in Japan drink a lot of green tea, and our reporter P.K. Sanjun is no exception. But also like a lot of people who grew up here, P.K. has never made green tea from scratch.

Every single supermarket and convenience store in Japan, and just about every vending machine too, is stocked with bottles of pre-made green tea. You’ll find an assortment of tea bags in the cupboard of most homes and offices, and some aficionados buy canisters of loose leaf tea, but even in those cases, the leaves have already been processed and packaged. Starting out in the fields, though, picking the tea leaves with your own hands and turning them into a cup of tea? That’s a rare experience, and one that the opportunity for came to P.K. by way of our boss, SoraNews24 founder Yoshio.

“We received a letter from Itoen,” Yoshio explained, invoking the name of one of Japan’s biggest tea makers, and the company behind the popular Oi Oicha brand of green tea. “They’re inviting you to come make tea with freshly picked leaves. Their representative, Katsuno-san, will meet you at the farm.”

And with that, P.K. was off to the town of Sayama, in Saitama Prefecture. As he walked up to the farm’s office facility to meet with Katsuno, he imagined that anyone working for a tea maker would have an aura as refined and gentle as a perfectly brewed cup of tea. Drawing close to the entrance, he spotted a solitary figure out front waiting for him, and called out “Katsuno-san! Hello, Katsuno-san! It’s me, P.K. Sanjun from SoraNews24!”

However, Katsuno replied to this greeting with a stern expression.

▼ He remained completely silent, with his shirt’s “ocha” (the Japanese word for “tea”) saying more than the man himself.

“So, uh, should we get started, Katsuno-san?” P.K. asked, to which Katsuno nodded and began walking with him towards the field. The Sayama site is one of many tea farms Itoen manages across Japan, helping to keep distribution routes short and its products fresh.

One of the farmers explained to P.K. how to pick the leaves, stressing that the key was to remove them carefully one at a time in order to prevent unnecessary tearing or bruising. This was P.K.’s first time to pick tea, and he was impressed by their soft, pliable texture in the palm of his hands, where they had a seemingly palpable freshness. Unaccustomed to field work, though, it wasn’t long before his lower back started to ache. Still, he felt quite proud of himself for filling up both hands with leaves, expecting it to be enough to make several pots’ worth of tea.

▼ Something about it made his paternal instincts kick in and he started thinking of them as his precious tea leaf children.

This, however, was the first of several times P.K. realized he had a lot to learn. “That’s probably enough to brew one cup,” explained his farmer mentor. “Compared to the weight of the raw leaves, you end up with only about one-fifth of that after they’re processed and ready to brew.”

So it was back to harvesting, with P.K. feeling a renewed sense of gratitude for the hard work of Japan’s tea farmers.

Eventually, Katsuno nodded that P.K. had picked enough. Since tea leaves begin to oxidize in the open air shortly after picking, they need to be processed right away before their flavor diminishes, and so Katsuno led P.K. inside for the next step from tea field to teacup.

Inside the processing room were a hot plate and a microwave oven. “Is this really all the equipment I need, Katsuno-san?” P.K. asked, to which he nodded again, said “Brew the tea,” and left P.K. to figure out what to do next on his own.

P.K. knew that you have to remove the moisture from the tea leaves before steeping them, so he started with the hot plate. Figuring that singeing them would make them taste bad, he used a low heat setting. A pleasant tea aroma began to rise from the plate as the leaves warmed, but he noticed that they weren’t really drying very much, so he decided to pop the leaves in the microwave for three minutes instead.

All the while, Katsuno was watching with a stony expression.

When P.K. took the leaves out of the microwave, they were nice and dry. Next, he grabbed a mortar and gently crushed the leaves into smaller pieces, and his original P.K.-style tea was ready for brewing!

And how did it taste?

Bad. Really, really, bad. It smelled nice enough, but the flavor was mercilessly bitter, so harsh that it was barely drinkable.

P.K.’s shoulders slumped in disappointment, and also guilt at the ignoble fate of his tea leaf babies. It was at this point that Katsuno came in with a batch of tea leaves that he had prepared.

With a gracefulness in stark contrast to his gruff expression, Katsuno paced the leaves in a teapot, steeped them, and poured P.K. a cup.

This was how tea should be.

The tea tasted fresh and smooth, with just the right balance of bracing astringency and comforting sweetness characteristic of Japanese green tea. P.K. was startled that Katsuno’s tea, which came from leaves picked in the same field as P.K.’s, could taste so different from his own sub-par batch. Katsuno’s tea was so good that P.K. believed it could put a smile on anyone’s face…

…even Katsuno’s!

“So what made the difference, Katsuno-san?” asked P.K. It was all the in the way the leaves were treated post-picking, he explained.  Katsuno started with the microwave, wrapped the tea leaves in plastic to essentially steam them, and heated them for just one minute instead of three, since over-heating them will produce excess bitterness.

Next, the leaves should be laid out flat on paper towels and cooled with a paper hand fan, much like you’d cool yourself off with on a hot afternoon, to help remove more moisture. Then it’s time to put them on the hot plate, set at low heat.

You don’t want to leave the leaves on the hot plate too long, though. After they’ve warmed, Katsuno says to put them back on paper towels and gently knead them, a process called chamomi, or “tea massaging,” in Japanese. This helps draw out their full flavor and aroma, and you should cycle through the hot plate heating and tea massaging about 10 times. Once that’s done, leave the leaves out to dry for 10 more minutes, and only then are they ready to be steeped, ideally in hot water that’s 80 degrees Celsius (176 degree Fahrenheit).

P.K. was amazed, not just because of how much effort goes into making a truly good cup of tea, but also because of how talkative the previously taciturn Katsuno had become. “Was there something that was upsetting you before, Katsuno-san?” asked P.K., thinking that maybe his lack of prior knowledge of tea production had offended the Itoen representative.

“Well, actually I just thought it was weird that you kept calling me Katsuno, since my name is Kakuno,” he revealed.

P.K. gulped with embarrassment at his faux pas. “I’m very sorry about that,” he said, and Kakuno seemed to forgive him. He even gave P.K. a bag of freshly picked tea leaves to take home, and explained that right now Itoen is running a promotion where if you follow their official Twitter account, retweet the tweet below, and fill out the form here, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a bag of your own.

お〜い
摘みたての生の葉からお茶を作る「鮮度体験キット」を24名の #茶レンジャー へお届けします

▼応募方法▼
1⃣@oiochakunをフォロー
2⃣この投稿をRT
3⃣応募フォームに入力https://t.co/5MF6xxKWOW

締切：7/4 23:59#茶畑エクスプレス #とどけお茶のチカラ pic.twitter.com/GXXX1LYo0U

— お〜いお茶くん【公式】 (@oiochakun) June 21, 2021

Still, P.K. felt kind of guilty about the name screw-up for his entire trip back home, until he remembered…

…the exact words our boss had told him:

“Their representative, Katsuno-san, will meet you at the farm.”

“Their representative, Katsuno-san, will meet you at the farm.”

So on this day, P.K. learned two things. One: every time you drink a good cup of tea, there’s a lot of work that went into it. And two: when Yoshio gives you a work assignment, you’ll probably want to double-check the details.

Source: Itoen tea leaf campaign site
Photos ©SoraNews24
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