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The Japanese are Building Islands
By Islomaniac | July 6, 2007
Japan, a highly industrialized country with an urbanized population is facing a critical shortage of land in many of their cities. The Japanese, being masters of ingenuity are building artificial islands to serve various purposes in their growing cities. In fact, it can be argued that they started the modern trend of island construction that is being modeled in areas such as the Middle East and other countries. However, unlike other regions where islands are being built primarily for recreational or aesthetic purposes, the Japanese are building their islands to serve more functional purposes, whether it be for an airport, an apartment or for a garbage dump. I have a compiled a list of all the major Japanese artificial islands. I may have missed a few, so let me know if I have. Read more after the link.
Aqua City and Fuji TV two of the popular sites on Odaiba Island “Teleport Town” a artificial island in Tokyo
Chubu Centrair International Airport
Also known as Central Japan International Airport, it is an artificial island in Ise Bay, near Tokoname City. Island construction began after much lobbying by local business groups such as Toyota. Construction started August 2000, with a budget of 768 billion yen (€5.5 billion, $7.3 billion), but through efficient management nearly 100 billion yen was saved. The artificial island itself was shaped like the rounded letter “D” so that sea currents inside the bay will flow freely. Its shores were partially constructed with natural rocks and sloped to aid sea lifeforms to set up colonies. The airport opened in 2005 and is already undergoing expansion with completion slated for 2010.
Central Japan International Airport
Kansai International Airport
The larger and more well known Kansai International Airport is located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay. Opened on September 4, 1994, it is an international gateway for Japan. The airport has been regarded as a disaster after the island started sinking. Costs for the airport have reached $15 billion. Fortunately the sinking has now slowed and the airport’s viability seems no longer in jeopardy as some of the initial worst-case projections had predicted. Nonetheless, the airport is still deeply in debt, losing $560 million in interest every year.
Kobe Airport
Kobe Airport is an airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, Japan. The airport opened on February 16, 2006 at a cost of $8.6 Billion. The airport has been riddled with controversy. Originally it was to be the site of the Kansai airport, but it was rejected by the municipality on the grounds that it would be too close to the city. Nonetheless, the municipality soon decided to build their own airport. Now the Kobe airport faces stiff competition from both the Osaka international airport and Kansai airport, both of which are less than 15 miles away. The construction of the airport is adding strain to the cities already massive debt of ¥3 trillion (about US $26 billion).
Odaiba Island
Odaiba (sometimes known as Daiba and sometimes referred to as the Tokyo Teleport Town) is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan. Odaiba was originally constructed in 1853 by the Tokugawa shogunate as a series of 6 fortresses in order to protect Tokyo from attack by sea.
The modern redevelopment of Odaiba started after the success of Expo ‘85 in Tsukuba. The Japanese economy was riding high, and Odaiba was to be a showcase as futuristic living, built at a cost of over $10 billion. T3, as it was nicknamed, was supposed to be a self-sufficient city of over 100,000 residents. However, the bubble burst in 1991, and by 1995 Odaiba was a virtual wasteland.
In 1996, the area was rezoned from pure business to allow also commercial and entertainment districts, and the area started coming back to life as Tokyo discovered the seaside it never had. Hotels and shopping malls opened up, several large companies including Fuji TV moved their headquarters to the island, and transportation links improved.
one of the original Odaiba Islands
Port Island
Port Island is an artificial island in Kobe, Japan. It was constructed between 1966 and 1981 at Port of Kobe, and officially opened with an exposition called “Port Pier ‘81.” It now houses a heliport, numerous hotels, a large convention center, the UCC Coffee Museum, and several parks.
Rokko Island
Rokko Island is the second major artificial island in Kobe, Japan located in the southeast region at Port of Kobe. The island was constructed from reclaimed land between 1973 and 1992. It has a 3.4 km by 2 km rectangular shape, and covers 5.80 km². During the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the island was one of the hardest hit areas in Kobe. Rokko Island contains hotels, sports and conventions facilities, markets, a water amusement park, sea view apartment buildings, the Kobe Fashion Museum, an international school (Canadian Academy), container yards, wharves, and port facilities.
Rokko Island viewed from Mt Rokko
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_Japan
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July 6th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Very interesting and well researched post, Mark.
“… Odaiba was originally constructed in 1853 by the Tokugawa shogunate … ”
Wow, 1853!
July 7th, 2007 at 12:49 am
Thank-you. It was one of my more ambitious posts. It started off small and just grew from there. I am glad you enjoyed it though!