Group of residents faces stiff resistance from officials and developers
Growing up in prewar Tokyo, Makoto Kaneko recalls that the perfectly shaped, snow-capped cone of Mount Fuji was like a constant companion, visible on the horizon from the narrow streets of his hilly working-class neighbourhood.
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| Grand vista: For now, two-thirds of Mt Fuji is still visible, but residents reckon it is probably just a matter of time before another building blocks what’s left |
The most majestic view was from a steep hillside affectionately named Fujimizaka, ‘the slope for seeing Mount Fuji’.
Today, Mr Kaneko’s cramped 80-year-old shop selling foods cooked in soy sauce is one of several old wooden stores and Buddhist temples that still stand here, making the Nippori neighbourhood a rare oasis of medieval charm in Tokyo’s concrete sprawl.
But the distant volcano, Japan’s tallest peak and pre-eminent national symbol, has been increasingly blocked by skyscrapers and smog.
Mr Kaneko said he and other residents did not mind because they still had the vista from Fujimizaka, which has become a minor tourist attraction.
Then, one day a decade ago, they learned of plans for a 14-story apartment building 1.6 kilometres away that would partly obstruct that view. Continue reading
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