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Nakagin Capsule Tower comes to an end

Nakagin Capsule Tower comes to an end

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Completed in 1972 the Nakagin Capsule Tower was a rare remaining example of Japanese Metabolism (alongside the older Kyoto International Conference Center), an architectural movement emblematic of Japan’s postwar cultural resurgence. It was the world’s first example of capsule architecture ostensibly built for permanent and practical use.

The capsules that make up the main structure of Nakagin Tower were designed to be rotated and replaced every 25 years. However, lack of funds resulted in rotation and replacement of capsules that never took place and ultimately led to a deterioration of the structure.

Inside Japan did a fabulous video that toured the inside of the units and talked with one of the remaining owners.

The building, however, fell into disrepair. Only around thirty of the 140 capsules were still in use as apartments by October 2012, while others were used for storage or office space, or simply abandoned and allowed to deteriorate. There is the additional problem that the structure no longer adheres to modern earthquake standards in quake prone Tokyo.

Now the tower’s time has come and the building is now officially being dismantled. There is one bright spot: the current owners, Tatsuyuki Maeda, explained that a team is trying to preserve some of the capsules and regenerate them as accommodation units and museum installations around the world. Maeda’s statements are based on an announcement by the Kisho Kurokawa Chiyoda-ku Office of Architects and Urban Design that it aims to dismantle the iconic architecture and reuse its capsules as accommodation units and museum installations. Nakagin Capsule Tower A606 Project is extracting and preserving various unique unit components and extracting unit A606 to put on display with all of it’s original equipment.

Knight Rider filming locations

Knight Rider filming locations

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As a kid, I LOVED catching the latest Knight Rider episode each week. Besides the episodes with KARR, one of my other favorites as a kid was the episode that featured Michael’s evil twin Garth and Goliath: a giant semi with the same protective shell as KITT.

I love visiting locations where my favorite films and TV shows were filmed, and it turns out someone found the filming location for the Goliath episodes. How cool is that?

More Oregon Hike recommendations

More Oregon Hike recommendations

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  1. No Name Lake and Bend Glacier via Broken Top Trail – considered one of the best hikes in the state.
  2. Tamanawas Falls – Mt Hood
  3. Tom, Dick, and Harry – Mt Hood
  4. Hamilton Mountain Trail – Gorge
  5. Maxwell Lake – Wallowas
  6. God’s Thumb via The Knoll – Oregon coast near Lincoln City
  7. Clatsop Loop Trail – Ecola Park – easy but good views. Great intro trail.
  8. John Dellenback Dunes Trail – Oregon coast near Reedsport
  9. Natural Bridges Viewpoint Trail – South Oregon Coast – probably most amazing views of multiple natural rock bridges and coastal rock formations.
  10. Trail of Ten Falls – Silver Creek State Park
  11. Misery Ridge Hike – Central Oregon
  12. Tumalo Falls Trail – Bend
  13. Green Lakes/Soda Creek trail – Bend –
  14. Cleetwood Cove Trail – from rim to water at Crater Lake

Major multi-day hikes:

  1. Three Sister’s Loop – 46 miles
  2. Steens Mountain Gorges Loop – 28 miles
  3. Paulina Peak trail – gorgeous sunrises, rent a snowmobile in winter
  4. South Sister Trail to summit – 12 miles

More information and some of them taken from here.

Tools for wildflower season in the Gorge

Tools for wildflower season in the Gorge

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Purple and golden wildflowers cover a landscape

It’s springtime, and that means wildflowers are blooming in the gorge! Knowing when to go and what trails you want to take can be overwhelming. Here’s two good resources.

  •  Oregonwildflowers.org, is created and maintained by flower superfan and photographer Greg Lief. The exhaustive site collates recent trip reports from wildflower wanderers. Follow links to discussion groups and “up to the minute bloom conditions” as well as links to further information including handy wildflower databases and local plant lists.
  • ReadySetGOrge.com, a clearinghouse maintained by local partner agencies. ReadySetGOrge offers complete information — maps and directions; trail lengths, elevations and difficulty levels; facilities and required passes — for all 181 recreation sites in the Gorge.
  • OregonLive list of some popular trails (where I stole most of the above info from)

With the increased popularity of the gorge, you now need permits more than ever before to hike trails and see the flowers. Here’s some links for that:

Anti-procrastination cafe

Anti-procrastination cafe

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At Japan’s anti-procrastination “Manuscript Writing Cafe”, there is no leaving until your work is done.

The cafe is for writers of all kinds who are facing imminent deadlines. Customers first write down their work goals and an expected length of time it will take to achieve them. Next, they choose between three levels of intensity of progress checks from ‘mild’ to ‘difficult.’ Only after achieving said goals can writers check out. According to the cafe’s owner, Takuya Kawai, every customer has achieved their goals, even if they’ve had to stay past closing time. The cafe also offers unlimited coffee, tea bags, high-speed Wi-Fi and charging ports to maximize work efficiency.

Here’s the address if you want to go. It turns out that I walked a block away from here a few years back, but it didn’t exist as this kind of cafe yet.

原稿執筆カフェ 3 Chome-34-1 Koenjikita, Suginami City, Tokyo 166-0002, Japan