1/Here's something a lot of people I talk to don't understand about Japanese urbanism, and why Japanese cities are so special. 
2/Japanese cities feel different than big, dense cities elsewhere -- NYC, London, and Paris, but also other Asian cities like Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore.
There are many reasons for this, but today I'll focus on one: Zakkyo buildings.
There are many reasons for this, but today I'll focus on one: Zakkyo buildings.
3/When many people think of "mixed-use development", they think of stores on the first floor, apartments on the higher floors. This is sometimes called "shop-top housing" or "over-store apartments".
This is how most cities in the world do mixed-use development.
This is how most cities in the world do mixed-use development.
4/Here's a great view of shop-top development in NYC (Little Italy). You can clearly see the restaurants and stores on the first floor, apartments on the higher floors.
5/Here's Hayes Street in San Francisco (close to where I live!). Two or three floors of apartments over one floor of stores.
6/This is how shopping districts look in most of the world's big, dense cities. Here's the Marais in Paris. Again, one floor of retail, then apartments on top.
7/It's also the norm in the older shopping districts of big Asian cities. Here's Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong:
8/Another great example of shop-top housing from Hong Kong. Sometimes you see signs on the second floor. These can be signs for a first-floor restaurant/shop, or (occasionally) the restaurant/shop actually occupies the first two floors.
9/Bugis in Singapore, same story. (Sometimes the units above the shops are offices rather than apartments.)
10/Here's a particularly gorgeous example of shop-top housing from the Rue Montorgueil in Paris.
11/Areas with shop-top housing are great. They represent some of the most vibrant walking/eating/shopping neighborhoods of NYC, Paris, HK, and the other great old cities of the world.
But Japan does things a bit different, due to a type of building called "zakkyo".
But Japan does things a bit different, due to a type of building called "zakkyo".
12/Zakkyo literally just means "mixed-use", but in Japan it refers to buildings with many small shops or offices on multiple floors -- anywhere from 2 to 8 floors.
Here is a diagram.
Here is a diagram.
13/Zakkyo buildings have two other special characteristics:
1. They have exterior signs on upper floors, so you can discover the stores from the street.
2. The upper floors are street-accessible, because they buildings have stairways and elevators directly on the street.
1. They have exterior signs on upper floors, so you can discover the stores from the street.
2. The upper floors are street-accessible, because they buildings have stairways and elevators directly on the street.
14/The upper-floor signs of zakkyo buildings give Japanese downtown areas their distinctive "forest of lights" look. But they also serve an important purpose: You can see restaurants and shops from the street, and walk in and try them out!
15/Stair/elevator accessibility directly from the street is a crucial part of this. You have to be able to *see* an upper-floor shop from the street, then decide "Hmm, I'll try that out", and then easily and immediately walk directly to that shop.
16/Zakkyo buildings create SERENDIPITY in a shopping neighborhood. They allow you to encounter and discover more restaurants and shops per unit area of walkable street. This is just math. The more you encounter in a square meter = the more serendipity per minute of walking.
17/Serendipity benefits small businesses because it makes it easier for new customers to find them. And it benefits customers because they get more variety and novelty.
noahpinion.blog/p/secrets-of-j…
noahpinion.blog/p/secrets-of-j…
18/But zakkyo buildings have another, special effect on cities. Because they concentrate retail vertically in small areas of land, they allow quiet residential areas to exist very close to the city center!
Here's Shoto, a quiet leafy neighborhood in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Here's Shoto, a quiet leafy neighborhood in Shibuya, Tokyo.
19/And here is Dogenzaka, a street in downtown Shibuya famous for gigantic zakkyo buildings and extremely dense foot traffic.
20/Now realize that those two places -- the pulsing, packed heart of Japanese consumerism, and the quiet, shady residential neighborhood -- are AN EIGHT-MINUTE WALK FROM EACH OTHER.
21/In fact I want to repeat that, because it's so incredible. These two are EIGHT MINUTES AWAY.
22/The secret is zakkyo.
Because the shops and restaurants of Shibuya are all piled on top of each other, it's possible to put them in a very small section of the city. That allows you to have residential areas very close by with very little foot traffic from shoppers!
Because the shops and restaurants of Shibuya are all piled on top of each other, it's possible to put them in a very small section of the city. That allows you to have residential areas very close by with very little foot traffic from shoppers!
23/Think about the math of shop-top housing vs. zakkyo.
If you have 1000 shops and they're all on the first floor, your shopping area has to spread over three times as wide an area as it would if there were shops on floors 1 through 3!
If you have 1000 shops and they're all on the first floor, your shopping area has to spread over three times as wide an area as it would if there were shops on floors 1 through 3!
24/There are undeniable drawbacks of living in a shop-top apartment. Noise from retail customers constantly intrudes from the street. That's one reason a lot of people resist mixed-use development!
Zakkyo fixes this, by concentrating shops in smaller areas.
Zakkyo fixes this, by concentrating shops in smaller areas.
25/Of course, there's another way to concentrate retail vertically, while even creating some serendipity: indoor vertical malls.
These have become the norm in China and Singapore, and are becoming more popular in Japan.
These have become the norm in China and Singapore, and are becoming more popular in Japan.
26/Indoor malls have one big advantage: air conditioning. That's important in hot regions!
But geometrically, they're not as good as zakkyo, because the walking spaces are all internal. You can't pack as many stores into a given space, and the throughput of customers is lower.
But geometrically, they're not as good as zakkyo, because the walking spaces are all internal. You can't pack as many stores into a given space, and the throughput of customers is lower.
27/Malls can be good for serendipity (depending on how they're constructed and what businesses they have in them), but they'll never be as good for serendipity as Japan's zakkyo-lined walking streets.
28/Here, in Taipei, you can see three types of development all next to each other: 1) zakkyo, 2) shop-top housing, and 3) a single-store building.
Interestingly, you can see the pedestrians clustering around the zakkyo buildings.
Interestingly, you can see the pedestrians clustering around the zakkyo buildings.
29/In fact, there's little preventing American cities like NYC and SF from creating zakkyo buildings. Koreatown in NYC already has a few!
30/And here on St. Mark's in NYC you can see some shops with signs on the second floor. Looks great, and makes the street more fun!!
31/Anyway, to read more about the history of zakkyo buildings, check out the book "Emergent Tokyo", by @McReynoldsJoe et al.!
amazon.com/Emergent-Tokyo…
amazon.com/Emergent-Tokyo…
@McReynoldsJoe 32/There are lots of things that make Japanese cities uniquely awesome, but I think zakkyo are one of the most important and least appreciated ones.
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