Yumenoshima: Tokyo’s fly-infested landfill became green oasis

Tokyo is known for its bustling streets and traditional culture. One may think of famous sights such as Meiji Shrine and Tokyo Skytree as the city’s attractions. There are plenty of other lesser-known areas with their own unique history that are worth checking out.

Yumenoshima (“dream island” in Japanese) is a great example. Today, it is a simple area in Tokyo, just outside of Shin Kiba station. Yumenoshima’s park and greenhouse are two of its main features that may appeal to people concerned about environmental issues. However, it has a longer and more surprising history than you may think, one that dates back to World War II and the post-war period.

Island’s checkered past

There is not a huge amount of information about the area, even from Japanese sources. It was not always called Yumenoshima, and originally it was planned to be an airport. The plan was to construct an airport closer to Tokyo’s center than Haneda Airport, located on the southern edge of the metropolis.

The war caused a shortage of materials and eventually, the project was scrapped altogether. When the war ended, the location was reimagined as a beach, and this is when it was dubbed Yumenoshima. Frequent typhoons and economic difficulties forced its closure a few years later. It eventually began to be used as a landfill and became infamous throughout Japan after a fly outbreak had to be put down by firefighters and the Japan Self Defense Force. In the 50s, the construction of incineration plants could not keep pace with a rapid increase in garbage, and the food waste from households was dumped with all the other trash. It attracted swarms of flies and generated gas in the landfill, which occasionally led to fires.

Island gives back to its visitors

Years later, an incineration plant was built here, which brings us to the present. Yumenoshima’s greenhouse, its most notable attraction, is heated entirely by waste heat provided from the nearby incineration plant. Opened in 1988, its three domes are home to a fascinating variety of plants, including tree ferns, regional Japanese plants and even carnivorous, plant-eating insects. Visitors can also enjoy educational videos, events and an herb garden. You can also go on a virtual reality tour of the facilities.

Besides the greenhouse, visitors can enjoy viewing flowers and plants at Yumenoshima’s spacious park as well. Another unique attraction is the Daigo Fukuryu Maru Exhibit Hall, which showcases a tuna fishing boat exposed to nuclear radiation from U.S. atomic bomb testing. The exhibition is to help teach about wooden vessels used for deep-sea fishing, as well as the problems and damage caused by nuclear weapons.

The future of Yumenoshima is still to be determined

The fate of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is still uncertain. However, one other notable feature of Yumenoshima is its recently constructed archery field, which is planned to be used for the archery contests in the Olympics. It will continue to be used for archery and other sporting events even after the Olympics have finished.

Yumenoshima is a good example of turning an environmental problem into a positive one (some might even call it a regenerative design). Next time you are looking for something outside of Tokyo’s standard tourist spots, Yumenoshima offers a fascinating history and has attractions for nature and sports lovers alike.