Takashimadaira
Takashimadaira
Station is
located on the Toei Mita Line in
the Takashimadaira district of Itabashi
Ward in the north-west of Tokyo.
Takashimadaira
is a relatively quiet area of Tokyo.
Coming out of Takashimadaira Station,
the first thing that one comes across
is the Takashimadaira
Public Housing Complex ,
which is located right across the
street from the station. Built
by the Housing and Urban Development
Corp., it is the largest public
housing complex in Tokyo, and the
third largest in Japan. All of the
10,170 inexpensive housing units
in the 10-story high buildings are
exactly the same (two-rooms and
a living/dining room/kitchen area).
The complex includes a shopping
area, a park, a library, and a police
booth.
Extending
from east to west along the Takashimadaira
Public Housing Complex is Akatsuka
Park . As one of Tokyo's
largest parks, it covers an area of
8.6 hectares. The park has a natural
forest setting with a wide variety
of tall trees. Its features include
a bird sanctuary, tennis courts, track
fields, a baseball ground and a barbeque
area. Akatsuka Park is also known
for its 200 by 20 meter field of wild
nirinso (windflowers). Its
small white flowers beautifully cover
the ground right after the cherry
bloom season, thus extending the bloom
watching season further. Also located
in Akatsuka Park are the ruins of
Akasaka Castle .
Akasaka Castle was built in the 13
th century as a means of defense against
Mongol invasions, and consisted of
a number of buildings surrounded by
a wooden wall.