A pair of “artificial lungs” -the tidal flat was artificially restored and the natural environment lost by industrialization was regenerated. As surrounded by a green network centered on the Seaside park, it was planned to be integrated with the
In this area there used to be a town of laver cultivation and fishery facing a shallow ocean sandwiched between Arakawa and Edogawa River. The natural tidal flat called “Sanmaisu” was full of brushwood assembled for laver cultivation and many gobies and wild birds lived there. In “Tokyo Metropolitan Maritime Park Plan” decided in 1960, covering all the sea areas and landfill sites between off Kasai and off Haneda, they attached importance to the continuity of “sea – beach – land” that the natural coast used to have and tried to restore it and incorporate various park functions.
Tokyo’s first artificial beach, which was built in a part of Sanmaisu, a valuable tidal flat that remained in Tokyo Bay, referred to artificial ocean technology such as Monte Carlo, and the both civil engineering and biological technologies bore fruit: for example, the east-west guide bank was built of inclined dry stone walling structure.
Tokyo Sea Life Park designed by Yoshio Taniguchi was planned to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Imperial Ueno Zoological Gardens opening and its design sloping down to the shore fascinates many people.
In contrast to the big resort on the other side, the huge Ferris wheel which rises straight to the sky keeps turning slowly as responding to the “lungs” of the sea holding Tokyo Bay. (S.Doi)
