Kiba
Kiba
Station is
an underground subway station on
the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line in the
Kiba district of Koto Ward of Tokyo.
It was Tokyo Metro's first station
that was built by shield tunneling,
a protective way of excavating tunnels
where soil is too soft. The
soil of Kiba is soft and fluid as
the area is located on the waterfront
of Tokyo Bay and is bounded by Sumida
River. Much of the land is reclaimed.
Kiba
literally means ‘wood place'. The
area was named Kiba during the Edo
period as it was here that timber
was brought into Tokyo. In 1977
the place was designated as parkland
by Emperor Hirohito to commemorate
50 years of his reign, but it wasn't
until 1992 that a park was actually
developed here. This park is known
as Kiba Park and is located 2 minutes
on foot from Kiba Station.
Kiba
Park
Kiba
Park is a large 24 hectare park.
It is divided into 2 blocks – north
and south – by the Sendai-bori River.
The southern part is a large span
of greenery with a flower garden,
a cycling and an athletics track,
and a barbeque area that needs prior
reservation for use. This section
of the park is always full of picnickers,
joggers, strollers, and children
playing baseball or just running
around. Towards the east end is
a concrete suspension bridge that
leads to a small playground for
children with swimming and splashing
facilities.
This
southern section of Kiba Park is
also home to some of the most popular
festivals of Tokyo. Every first
Sunday of October, Kiba
no Kakunori ,
an exhibition and display of traditional
lumber workers' skills, is held.
On every third weekend of October,
Koto Kumin Matsuri (Koto
Ward Residents' Festival) is held.
This is a festival of and for the
residents of Koto Ward. On Saturday
a bazaar and sports contests are
held, and on Sunday, there is a
parade in the middle of the park
and a contest for the title of chikaramochi
(or "strongman").
This contest is in honor of the
dock workers of yesteryears.
In
the northern part of the park, there
are six tennis courts and an open
sports/events section. In the northern-most
end is the Museum of Contemporary
Art.
Museum
of Contemporary Art
The
Museum of Contemporary Art is situated
at the north end of Kiba Park. Opened
in 1995, this contemporary art museum
houses some of the best collections
of post-war Japanese art. The building,
designed by architect Takahiko Yanagisawa
in a mixed style of modernist, neo-classical
and post-modern styles, is a piece
of art in itself. It is made of
gray marble, steel and glass, and
has long well-lit airy galleries.
It covers a floor area of 24,000
m?, which includes separate galleries
for permanent and temporary exhibits,
a library with over 65,000 volumes,
conference rooms, restaurants, a
museum shop, an observation deck,
and public areas.
The
museum has about 4,000 works (of both
Japanese and non-Japanese artists)
in its permanent collection, of which
100 to 150 are displayed at a time,
and then changed every three months.
Besides exhibiting works of art, one
of the other objectives of the museum
is to collect and preserve contemporary
works of art. Entrance fee is ¥
500 per adult and ¥ 250 for students
for the permanent exhibit galleries,
and ¥ 800-1000 for the temporary
exhibit galleries; but the viewers
of the temporary exhibits are charged
half of regular fees for the permanent
exhibits.
