Buildings that are not needed

[cow 0]

I was just watching an article on the news about some place that is throwing up community centers, museums and onsen facilities that are apparently not needed and losing ichiokuen a month - just for the sake of them using their budgets so they'll get more next year.

 

Where I live there is this huge new onsen facility thing that is just totally out of place and when I have been there hardly anyone there. It does seem such a waste, and even though it is new it looks awful and doesn't fit in.

 

Anything near you that is one of these "lets use up the money" projects?

 

[Thunderpants 0]

Welcome to japan.

Shizuoka is littered with that kind of stuff.

It seems that the local government here have run out of things to pour concrete on, so they have turned to tetrapods and big "fish houses" big hollow concrete blocks they dump in the ocean.

[bushpig 0]

Same here in Hiroshima. Take a drive out in the country towns and you'll find all sorts of things built just to use the money. As thunderpants said, that's Japan!

[giggsy 0]

Often the case here when they are using up budgets. Not sure why Japan sees it apparently necessary to make useless buildings and be obsessed with concrete tho

[Rag-Doll 0]

Someone should convince the local govs that they can spend more money and create more jobs by employing people to rip down all of the old crappy buildings and replacing power poles with underground cables and generally rehabilitating the otherwise ****up countryside.

[bobby12 0]

Rag-doll - that makes total sense. However I think the politicians are in the pockets of the concrete constructions companies, and thats why it isnt going to happen anytime soon.

[daver 0]

i can't remember the quotation perfectly but if you will allow me to paraphase, a famous kabuki actor has been reported as saying "a multi purpose center is a no purpose center."

[jgraves 0]

Great quote!

 

The same section of dead-end road (which is hardly ever driven on) outside of the city hall of the town where I used to live gets repaved every year come march!!!

 

The explanation I got was that they don't want their budget to decrease the following year because it isn't used up (nothing particularly Japanese about that strategy). What did I care, as a foreigner I wasn't paying Japanese taxes.

 

Come rainy season and typhoon season, I'm glad for the tetrapods and concrete. Wish it weren't so ugly, though.

[daver 0]

in my area i know that a main reason for yearly repaving is because no one removes their chains all winter long and as such the roads get chewed up. can't blame the people, the city never cleans the roads so to not drive without chains would be like trying to run on an ice rink with slippers on.

hey that's a useful work project; CLEAN THE F KEN STREETS IN THE WINTER!!!!!!

[indosnm 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by Tohoku bum:
Come rainy season and typhoon season, I'm glad for the tetrapods and concrete. Wish it weren't so ugly, though.

Tongue and cheek right?

Tetras only aid erosion. They should make reefs so that the swells can break.

[bushpig 0]

I second that Indosnm! So that the swells can break...

[IIIII 2]

I'd be interested to know how the tetras aid erosion.....?

[bushpig 0]

aside from the erosion issue, coastlines are not, and have never been static and fixed. It seems rather silly to try and stop the natural movement and change by placing bloody ugly cement structures along the coast. If housing/towns cop the force of severe storms isn't because we have built too close to naturally susceptible areas in the first place?

 

To answer your question on the erosion though, the placement of groynes and moles along natural coastlines has been shown to change natural build-up of sand in areas while preventing it in others where it once did build up. I can only assume that this effect could also happen from the tetrathingys.

[ShinyDiscoBall 2]

There's a huge community centre type building near where I live that never seems to be used or hardly ever. Impressive looking thing it is, I'm sure it cost a fortune. I think the ikebana class is the event of the week there.

[taguchi 0]

This morning on tv there was something about facilities in Yubari.

 

They said there was a theme park with rollercoaster and they could see only 1 guest. The rolloerocoaster had 18 people riding in 1 day. Also an animal museum (stuffed animal museum!) with nobody entering and a Robot Museum. Something again about these facilities made because of using up budget and for not good reason.

[chop 0]

look for a book by the name of-

"Dogs and Demons" the fall of modern Japan.

by Alex Kerr.

[rach 1]

I saw that yesterday taguchi. It showed the theme park in the middle of the day. There was only 1 person in the whole park, with all the staff just sitting around chatting. As well as terrible for business etc, how embarrassing! I didn't catch the end when they were talking about the reason for keeping these places open. What was it?

[r45 4]

There's a program on tv tonight with Alex Kerr on, presumably talking about the disappearing beauty of Japan (and concrete). Just saw the ad for the program. 11pm, Jounetsu Tairiku 情熱大陸

[Tubby Beaver 209]

This isn't peculiar to Japan, most Local Governments do the same thing when they have excess money to burn at the end of the fiscal year. If they don't spend it then their budget gets cut for the following year. Stupid I know but it happens in every country. Thats why in the UK you would see huge sections of motorway with roadwork signs and cones but no work going on. They charge for the setting up of the cones etc and the taking them down.

 

Isn't the reason that the wires are overhead because of possible damage to underground wires during earthquakes? I think thats the official line anyway

[muikabochi 208]

I would have liked to have seen that, but missed it. Anyone see?