Presumably built in 1965 like the government housing buildings in the background, this concrete structure in the aptly named UFO Park was designed to celebrate unreal, and utterly unknown alien visitors.
Now, more than half a century later, it’s taped up and out of bounds because of an all too real, but sadly still not fully known invader.
dot says
There is a comedy in this composition that delights me deeply… Lovely.
Lee says
Thank you. Good to hear. I was in the area to explore some streets nearby, so this unexpected find was a real treat.
Jenn says
Ha, this is so different from modern playgrounds but the little girl sure looks happy with it! 🙂
Lee says
Yeah, it really is, but like you said, no less popular!
cdilla says
That has the look of Okamoto’s Tower of the Sun, and might well have been created around the same time.
A wonderful sculpture to wrap a childs imagination around.
There seems to be an affinity the Japanese have with space. This park in Sumida City has a more modern feel, but the rocket is what I remember most about it.
https://tokyo.pics/index.php/2019/06/12/colourful-play-park/
Lee says
Ah, interesting. Now you mention it, yeah, there’s definitely a similarity. My feeling (minus the running) was similar when I actually saw said tower for real.
Seems there are a few concrete UFOs dotted over the country, so it was definitely a thing. Your photo proves it still is one too.
john says
Ah! not space as in kanso then. The park looked a little cluttered to me.
Steve says
It reminds me a little of Tokyo Skytree.
Lee says
For the little kids it probably seems as big as Skytree as well.
john says
We’ll investigate..but move cautiously. (Plan 9 from Outer Space) They might be happy but I wonder if they know (or care) what it is?
Capturing that ‘hand on hat’ moment is quite splendid.
Lee says
Cheers. The UFO on its own wasn’t quite enough, and then the little girl ran across. The hand on hat was the icing on the cake!