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Joinus Sculpture Park in Yokohama

Is there a train station that you’ve been using for years and yet never found out some of the fun places a few steps away? I’ve been living in Yokohama City in Japan for nearly three years before I found out that above the Yokohama train station, on top of a department store, is a lovely little park.

On the 9th floor of the Joinus department store you'll find this! 横浜駅と直結するジョイナスの屋上にある公園。

On the 9th floor of the Joinus department store you'll find this! 横浜駅と直結するジョイナスの屋上にある公園。

ジョイナスの森彫刻公園

あまり知られていないようで、都会のオアシス的な場所で居心地のいい空間です。様々な彫刻があり、お花や鳥の観察もできます。天気にいいとき、お弁当を広げて食べるのもいいと思います。横浜駅には何度も行っていますが、駅と直結しているジョイナスの屋上にこんな素晴らしい場所があるとは新しい発見でした^^

"Guidepost Pigeon" by (1973-9) by Japanese artist Yanagihara Yoshitatsu.  具象作家の柳原義達の「道標・鳩」(1973-9年)

"Guidepost Pigeon" by (1973-9) by Japanese artist Yanagihara Yoshitatsu. 具象作家の柳原義達の「道標・鳩」(1973-9年)

Get off the Joinus elevator on the 9th floor and you’ll be greeted by four beautiful bronze pigeons. It was so much fun watching them because, while they didn’t move an inch, a pair of real live pigeons played with them. They would sit on their bronze counterparts’ backs, and sometimes their poses would match. I wonder if it perplexed them that their lookalikes would not peck around and make cooing noises?

Benches perfect for gazing at the fleabanes. ベンチからハルジオン畑を眺めます。

Benches perfect for gazing at the fleabanes. ベンチからハルジオン畑を眺めます。

There are benches all over the park. Aside from the sculptures, which I’ll introduce below, there are also flowers and greenery for relaxation and cleaner air.

Sculpture amidst the greenery. 緑に囲まれた彫刻たち。

Sculpture amidst the greenery. 緑に囲まれた彫刻たち。

It wouldn’t be a sculpture park without these bronze beauties.

From left to right: "Matsurika" (1978) by Japanese artist Funakoshi Yasutake; "Nike '83" (1983) by Japanese sculptor Asakura Kyoko; "Le Fruit" (1911) by French sculptor Antoine Bourdelle. 左から右:舟越保武氏の「茉莉花」(1978年)、朝倉響子氏の「ニケ'83」(1983年)、フランス近代彫刻家アントワーヌ・ブールデル氏の「果実」(1911年)

From left to right: "Matsurika" (1978) by Japanese artist Funakoshi Yasutake; "Nike '83" (1983) by Japanese sculptor Asakura Kyoko; "Le Fruit" (1911) by French sculptor Antoine Bourdelle. 左から右:舟越保武氏の「茉莉花」(1978年)、朝倉響子氏の「ニケ'83」(1983年)、フランス近代彫刻家アントワーヌ・ブールデル氏の「果実」(1911年)

My favorite work of art here is “Passo di danza che riposa” (1983) by Italian sculptor Giacomo Manzu. Isn’t she lovely? I love her delicate yet expressive features. I imagine her as a dancer who, despite her youth, is already familiar with the agony and ecstasy of her craft.

Giacomo Manzu was a famous Italian sculptor of the 20th century, I would find out later. Yes, I was so taken by this piece that I went home and looked up the artist! 🙂

"Passo di danza che riposa" (1983) by Italian sculptor Giacomo Manzu. 最もお気に入りの作品はイタリア現代彫刻家ジャコモ・マンズーの「踊り子」(1983年)です。

"Passo di danza che riposa" (1983) by Italian sculptor Giacomo Manzu. 最もお気に入りの作品はイタリア現代彫刻家ジャコモ・マンズーの「踊り子」(1983年)です。

I added some sparkles to the bokeh behind her headshot during post processing, just because I like her so much! 🙂 Please click on the photo to enlarge.

Headshot of "Passo di danza che riposa" by Giacomo Manzu. ジャコモ・マンズーの「踊り子」、頭部のクローズアップ。写真の後処理で背景のボケにキラキラを加えました^^

Headshot of "Passo di danza che riposa" by Giacomo Manzu. ジャコモ・マンズーの「踊り子」、頭部のクローズアップ。写真の後処理で背景のボケにキラキラを加えました^^

When it isn’t raining it would be really nice to buy a bento (box lunch) and have lunch here at this park. When I visited during a weekday afternoon there were benches available for a dozen people. There was a sarariman (salaried employee) reading a newspaper, and another reading a novel. There were a couple of students taking a nap on the bench after school. There was a young woman waiting for someone to arrive.

Young woman waiting for her companion to arrive as "Nike '83" looks on. 人待ちの若い女性と「ニケ'83」のワンシーン。

Young woman waiting for her companion to arrive as "Nike '83" looks on. 人待ちの若い女性と「ニケ'83」のワンシーン。

The loud humming sound of the equipment above the building next to the park put a dent on this peaceful, quiet scene. But apart from that it felt good to be nine floors above the hustle and bustle of the train station and department stores, and be among the greenery, gazing at the pigeons real or otherwise.

Real pigeon on top of a bronze version. 本物の鳩と鳩彫刻。

Real pigeon on top of a bronze version. 本物の鳩と鳩彫刻。

How to Get There

Joinus is a department store that connects directly to the West exit of Yokohama station.

The park is found on the 9th floor. You can take the escalator to the 8th floor when coming from the adjoining Takashimaya department store, and then the elevator to the 9th.

相鉄ジョイナスは横浜駅の西口と直結しています。隣の高島屋デパートからの場合、8Fレストラン階からエレベーターにて屋上へ。

I Would Love to Hear from You!

So, what do you think of this article? Do you have a favorite green spot next to a train station? Where and why? Please share your thoughts and opinions in the Comments section below.

ご意見をお聞かせください!

この記事についてどう思われましたか。最寄りの駅の近くにお気に入りの「穴場」がありませんか。短いコメントでもいいので是非お聞かせくださいね^^

Related Links

Citizen Kane and Sculptures at Hakone – article on the Hakone Open-Air museum, an outdoor sculpture park in Kanagawa.

External Links

Sotetsu Joinus – official site and floor map of the department store
相鉄ジョイナス – 公式サイト

Books to Consider

関連書籍

Other Articles on BC Discoveries

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6 comments

  1. A park on top of a building? Coolness! The department store should promote this feature of theirs more.

    • Hi slf! Agreed, it’s cool to have a park on top of a building! I wish all the buildings in the world would be required to do that. It would help combat global warming, or at the very least, the heat island effect, don’t you think?

  2. Kris /

    I really like the profiles of the girl and Nike in that one frame.

    • beverlyclaire /

      Glad you like it, Kris! They were almost in the same pose. Was really happy I got the timing right 🙂 Thanks for noticing!

  3. Hi Beverly, I saw this post about Joinus Sculpture park, and I’m trying to find more info about the park. How many sculptures are in the park, and who are the artists? I counted 5 sculptures by 5 artists (3 Japanese, 1 French, and 1 Italian) in your pictures — are there any more?

    Thanks for your help.
    – Kelise

    • beverlyclaire /

      Hi kelise! There was one more sculpture near the entrance that I forgot to photograph (“Composizione”, a 1955 bronze work by the Italian artist Marino Marini, 1901-1980), but that’s about it: a total of six sculptures. It’s a small park on top of a department store so I guess there isn’t a lot of space to put in more. Though they were spaced far apart enough to perhaps add one more in between 🙂 Hope this helps! (PS. There’s a huge sculpture park in Hakone that I visited this summer but have yet to write about. I’ll try to put up an article soon!)

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Passo di danza che riposa by Giacomo Manzu | Beverly Claire Designs - [...] ここで載せていない写真は旅ブログに記載していますのでよかったらご覧ください〜  [...]
  2. こんばんは!今日も一日お疲れ様でした♪ 写真は、横浜のジョイナス彫刻の森で見た、イタリア現代彫刻家ジャコモ・マンズーの「踊り子」(1983年)です。公園には様々な彫刻がありますが - [...] こんばんは!今日も一日お疲れ様でした♪ 写真は、横浜のジョイナス彫刻の森で見た、イタリア現代彫刻家ジャコモ・マンズーの「踊り子」(1983年)です。公園には様々な彫刻がありますがこの作品が最もお… Posted by beverlyclaire on Aug 21st, 2012 | 0 comments (No Ratings Yet) こんばんは!今日も一日お疲れ様でした♪写真は、横浜のジョイナス彫刻の森で見た、イタリア現代彫刻家ジャコモ・マンズーの「踊り子」(1983年)です。公園には様々な彫刻がありますがこの作品が最もお気に入り^^ G+上で載せていない写真はブログに記載していますのでよかったらご覧ください〜 http://discoveries.beverlyclaire.com/joinus-sculpture-park/ [...]

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