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Japan Travel : Amazing Japanese Landscape

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Japanese Landscape

Fundamental characteristics of the Japanese landscape:

1. Paucity of Idle Land
2. Scarcity of Level land
3. Compactness
4. Meticulous Organization
5. Immaculateness
6. Interdigitation
7. Tiered Occupance

Secondary characteristics of Japanese landscape:

1. Gardens with Sculptured Plants
2. Flowers along the thoroughfares
3. Lack of lawns
4. Dearth of roadside shoulder
5. Profusion of aerial utility lines
6. Pervasive vinyl plant covers
7. Walled urban areas with gates
8. Sacred spaces
9. Waning of traditional architecture

Primary characteristics

1. Paucity of Idle land: nearly 3/4 ths of Japan is mountainous and there are no major lowland areas. There are almost no unused, empty lots lying around as they tend to do in many U.S. cities. The use is so concentrated that use of rooftops is commonplace with some department stores having gardens, kiddie rides and other things on the roofs.

The department stores themselves may be multi-layered with one area being for eating, with a variety of restaurants, while another area might be for cultural activities such as a small art exhibition.

So, whereas Japanese cities may be very crowded and the architecture might not please everyone, some of the stores make excellent use of their space, offering things generally not found in American stories.

2. Scarcity of level land. About 1/8th of Japan is considered to be level land. Thus, farms will have terracing, residential areas will lack lawns, streets are narrow and there are few shade trees. This has also led to the creation of level areas by using land-reclamation projects such as filling in some bay areas. This is not so much an attack on the environment as something done out of necessity.

3. Compactness. Since there is little available, usable land, compactness and maximum use of an area is a necessity. Part of this comes about from having so many people living in the metropolitan areas (43% of all Japanese). Although there are huge shopping core areas there are also many small stories in an area. As such, much of the shopping is done near the place where the people actually live, helping to hold the community together.

4. Meticulous organization. Landscaping is highly organized. At one time this was shown mostly in the way farmers practiced agriculture, growing a variety of crops in rotation on the same land, or growing two crops in the same area. This concept of maximal use and organization was carried over into city areas. Neighborhood organizations called kumi consist of up to 15 households in an area and they work together on festivals, ceremonies and in other ways helping each other in the community.

5. Immaculateness. This is shown basically by weed-free roadsides, clean city streets, scrubbed storefronts and other ways in which cleanliness is maintained. Even in the love of Japanese for bathing and the use of a separate pair of shoes in the toilet area we can see Japanese emphasis on cleanliness.

6. Interdigitation. An area may have a variety of uses (residential, business, factories), rather than having almost separate areas as in the U.S. Also, many of the Japanese businesses are small (per capita they have twice as many wholesalers and retailers as does the U.S.), and this also has an effect on the way land is used.

7. Tiered occupancy. Some of Japan is heavily populated and some is not. Much of the agricultural area is tiered, especially due to the fact that there is so little level land.