Great success, but…Takanawa Gateway City & Oimachi Tracks “JR’s 600 Billion Yen Redevelopment” is a cause for concern

A “Dubai-like Scale

On March 28, the commercial complex “Takanawa Gateway City” (166 m high, 31 floors above ground, total area of 845,000 m2) and “Oimachi Tracks” (112 m high, 26 floors above ground, total area of 250,000 m2) were fully opened simultaneously.

The two buildings, located approximately 4 km apart, are both part of a large-scale redevelopment project by JR East, and cost approximately 600 billion yen to construct. The Shinagawa rail yard (Takanawa) and the historic Oi Works (Oimachi), which used to repair and assemble trains, have been transformed into giant structures.

How is this new landmark, which JR East advocates “enriched lifestyles 100 years from now,” being received by visitors? In late March, shortly after its opening, a FRIDAY Digital reporter visited the site.

As soon as one exits the ticket gate of JR Takanawa Gateway Station, the 166-meter-tall “Takanawa Gateway City” appears before one’s eyes. The building houses a variety of facilities, including coffee stands, Japanese and Western restaurants, a convention hall, and a luxury hotel that charges over 100,000 yen per night.

A man who works for an IT company looked up from the station building at the towering buildings and remarked, “There are so many buildings in Shinagawa.

There are many buildings in Shinagawa, but the scale of this one is off the charts,” he said as he looked up from the station building. The glass-walled buildings go on forever, and the scale is like Manhattan or Dubai (laughs).

As it was a weekend immediately after the opening, the restaurant area was crowded with many families and business people, but there were also some deserted areas. The luxury brand stores in the “Newman Takanawa” building in the “Takanawa Gateway City” were almost empty. A female customer in her 20s shrugged her shoulders and said, “I came here because it was a hot topic.

A female customer in her twenties shrugged her shoulders and said, “I came here because it was a hot topic, but there are only high-end brands such as Hermes and Chanel, and there are no stores that my generation can use on a daily basis. In the area lined with cosmetics brands, I got a little drunk because of the strong smell of perfume everywhere I went. The buildings are too big to visit in one day, and I keep resting on the benches. It is all I can do just to walk around. Once I’ve seen it once, I’m satisfied, or maybe I’ll go back a second time for a while.

Oimachi Tracks, which stands in front of Oimachi Station in Shinagawa Ward, the same ward as Takanawa Gateway City, was also packed with visitors. On the grassy plaza inside the facility, families were spotted lying down and playing with their children. In the restaurant area, there were lines of people waiting in line at almost every restaurant.

Takanawa was upscale, but Oimachi seems to be more accessible with a lower price range. But now there are so many people that I’m in a state of panic (laughs).

Redevelopment of “Anything Goes

However, the completion of “Oimachi Tracks” is not welcomed by everyone. A 64-year-old man who used to commute here with a camera in his hand when it used to be a train depot stood in front of the building in a daze.

It’s like the whole landscape has changed in a day. It’s like I’ve come to a completely different place,……, even though it’s a town I used to love and go to all the time.

A man in his 30s, who said he was from Oimachi, also expressed his mixed feelings , saying, “This is not the Oimachi I know.

I understand the greatness of the redevelopment project that cost 600 billion yen. But it is so far removed from the atmosphere of the back alley taverns and shopping streets that we loved growing up in Oimachi. …… As a local, I don’t feel at home here, as if it’s not my town. I’m not sure if this huge building will be a good match for the good old Oimachi that we love.

The local residents feel a sense of “unease” behind the great success of the project. What do real estate professionals think of “Takanawa Gateway City” and “Oimachi Tracks”? Tomohiro Makino, president of Oraga Research Institute, Inc. and an expert on the real estate business, offers this analysis.

Mr. Tomohiro Makino, president of Oraga Research Institute Co. The development was very timely, as it redefined the Shinagawa area as the “Great Shinagawa Area” against the backdrop of its access to Haneda Airport and its position as the arrival and departure point for the Linear Arrow Line. The development was very timely, as it redefined the area as the “Great Shinagawa Area. There is no need to be overly concerned about profitability.

However, what is right for business is not necessarily right for the city. Mr. Makino sounds a warning bell.

This is common to all large-scale redevelopment projects in recent years, but they are all ‘anything goes’ complexes. Even Takanawa Gateway City and Oimachi Tracks have the same tenants you see everywhere you go, and I personally was not impressed.

I was personally unimpressed by the fact that I saw the same kind of buildings everywhere I went, such as Shibuya’s Sakura Stage and Azabudai Hills, which are all similar in shape. The number of things that can only be enjoyed in a particular area is dwindling, and Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Shinagawa have all become homogenized into the same type of area.

Makino also takes a hard look at the future of both Takanawa and Oimachi.

For the first year or so after opening, there will be a lot of tourists,” he said. However, in the second or third year, there is a possibility that the number of customers will suddenly drop off. This is a phenomenon that many redeveloped buildings, including those in Shibuya, fall into. Even if you put in a high-brand store or a luxury hotel, it will only create an initial buzz. Unless measures are taken to make the facility loved by local residents, it cannot be expected to be lively in the long term.

Will the huge 600 billion yen renovation project end up being just a mere “showpiece”? Or will it become the face of Tokyo that will be loved for 100 years to come? The true value of the project will be tested in the quiet life after the festival.