Den-en-chōfu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Den-en-chōfu (田園調布?), meaning "garden suburb," is a district in the Ota ward (大田区 Ota-ku) in South Tokyo. It borders the Tama River, on the natural border of Tokyo and Kawasaki (Kanagawa Prefecture). It is served by Den-en-chōfu Station on the Tokyu Toyoko and Tokyu Meguro lines. Den-en-chōfu includes many detached suburban homes, styled as Japanese neo-classics, Edwardian villas, Swiss cottages and modern architectural designs.
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[edit] History
Den-en-chōfu was planned as a garden suburb of Tokyo from the beginning. In the early 1900s, financier Eiichi Shibusawa bought, named and developed the area by emulating the garden suburbs that were growing in metropolitan areas around the world. [1]
Although the area was developing at an adequate pace, it was the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 that guaranteed his success. Central Tokyo was levelled in the earthquake, but Den-en-chōfu was virtually untouched. In the aftermath, many people bought into Shibusawa's vision.
[edit] Modern times
Today, residents of Den-en-chōfu and the surrounding areas seem to benefit from Shibusawa's original plan. Its success has influenced[citation needed] neighbouring stations along the Toyoko railway line in western Meguro, including Jiyūgaoka and Toritsudaigaku, which service the Yakumo, Kakinokizaka, Nakane, Okusawa and Jiyūgaoka neighbourhoods.
Throughout this entire area, parks and leisure facilities abound. Aside from the trendy shops of Jiyūgaoka, boutiques and gourmet restaurants can be found on many side streets. Residents often take their families to nearby Komazawa Olympic Park or the Tama River for barbecues, picnics and sports.[citation needed]
Den-en-chōfu is known as a fairly expensive area to live in with houses that are large by Tokyo standards. The most exclusive area[citation needed] is Den-en-chōfu 3-chōme, which is laid out like the spokes of a wheel on the western side of Den-en-chōfu station. Owing to the size of the houses, tree-lined streets and public parks and gardens, it is also a popular area[citation needed] for expatriate families. It is close to a number of international schools (Seisen and St Mary's) and is on the bus route for the German school in Yokohama. A number of "expatriate-friendly" supermarkets are also nearby, selling many foreign comestibles (Den-en Super and Preece).
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