Japanese Park Playground Equipment
June 29, 2017 10:40 AM Subscribe
These are amazing. Is this a specific area or park?
I wonder if they're all still in use. They look delightfully dangerous and weird.
posted by Countess Elena at 10:56 AM on June 29, 2017
I wonder if they're all still in use. They look delightfully dangerous and weird.
posted by Countess Elena at 10:56 AM on June 29, 2017
I can't help but associate slides with materials like metal or plastic and sliding on concrete with getting road rash.
Yeah, I hear you. But ultimately I suppose it's a matter of what goes into the concrete mix, how well you sand it down after hardening, and what you do or don't paint over it with. Fine-grained concrete (too expensive for building or sidewalk construction, I'm sure), fine sandpaper on some power-sanders, and maybe a spray coat of enamel or something to finish? Probably just as good.
I'm guessing the reason we don't have them in the US (at least on older playgrounds) is that we lean toward using prefabs here rather than bespoke equipment?
posted by tobascodagama at 11:02 AM on June 29, 2017
Yeah, I hear you. But ultimately I suppose it's a matter of what goes into the concrete mix, how well you sand it down after hardening, and what you do or don't paint over it with. Fine-grained concrete (too expensive for building or sidewalk construction, I'm sure), fine sandpaper on some power-sanders, and maybe a spray coat of enamel or something to finish? Probably just as good.
I'm guessing the reason we don't have them in the US (at least on older playgrounds) is that we lean toward using prefabs here rather than bespoke equipment?
posted by tobascodagama at 11:02 AM on June 29, 2017
These are brilliant.
I don't know why they also make me sad. Because the playgrounds I see today are so bland? The fact they're scuffed up and not new? There's not a kid in sight?
posted by ecourbanist at 11:20 AM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I don't know why they also make me sad. Because the playgrounds I see today are so bland? The fact they're scuffed up and not new? There's not a kid in sight?
posted by ecourbanist at 11:20 AM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
These are so great. We have a set of Japanese baby books called "Baby Baby Bear", (titled 小熊宝宝 in Chinese) and the elephant slides as illustrated are totally like what's in these photos.
posted by of strange foe at 11:44 AM on June 29, 2017
posted by of strange foe at 11:44 AM on June 29, 2017
I've been down many a metal slide in my time, and in retrospect, maybe that wasn't a great solution either (I definitely remember roasting my ass off trying to slide down in shorts on hot summer days). Well, one generation's childhood injury is the next generation's innovation in playground equipment. All the shapes being used are way cooler than any of the generic shapes that get marketed over here.
posted by Autumnheart at 11:47 AM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Autumnheart at 11:47 AM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
These are gorgeous. They really straddle the line between sculpture and playground equipment. We have an outdoor sculpture park near our place and there is nothing that makes me happier than seeing kids jumping and climbing around on those solid pieces of art. The park I grew up near had a Henry Moore sculpture my sister and I used to run around in and bang on. More public art playgrounds, both intended and accidental please.
posted by Cuke at 12:27 PM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Cuke at 12:27 PM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
A couple years ago I went to a plum blossom festival in Tokyo and stumbled across Hanegi Park Play Area which is a playground full of ramshackle buildings, open-platform treehouses, wooden boards used as slides, fire pits with cast iron pots and pans, and a selection of tools including hammers, saws, and vice-grips that small children were freely playing with.
It seemed crazy to my North American eyes, although Google Translate tells me now that the park has three adult supervisors on hand at all times watching the kids. Apparently the point is for kids to have a place to "play freely at your own risk".
posted by Gortuk at 1:40 PM on June 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
It seemed crazy to my North American eyes, although Google Translate tells me now that the park has three adult supervisors on hand at all times watching the kids. Apparently the point is for kids to have a place to "play freely at your own risk".
posted by Gortuk at 1:40 PM on June 29, 2017 [4 favorites]
I'm super impressed by the lighting in these shots. The photographer makes them look so isolated and otherworldly. So many of them are lit from within, as one of several lighting sources. The end result looks so simple, but oddly melancholy.
posted by Cranialtorque at 2:55 PM on June 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Cranialtorque at 2:55 PM on June 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
@Countess Elena: if you run the site thru google translate, most of the images list a location under the photo. It looks like they are from all over Japan.
posted by Cranialtorque at 2:58 PM on June 29, 2017
posted by Cranialtorque at 2:58 PM on June 29, 2017
Yeah, they have locations listed, and they basically could not be more "from all over Japan" than they are.
Man, though. These are very cool photos.
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:00 PM on June 29, 2017
Man, though. These are very cool photos.
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:00 PM on June 29, 2017
They're so chunky and satisfying, the abstract ones especially are like the sort of fantasy architecture I loved in picture maze books as a kid. The cricket antennae ladder is kinda genius too.
posted by lucidium at 3:52 PM on June 29, 2017
posted by lucidium at 3:52 PM on June 29, 2017
We loved playgrounds in Japan. Even barebones metal playgrounds had cool walkways and those insanely fast and very long curving roller slides. There was also plenty of green space and forest around them.
Australian playgrounds are designed with a single specification: 'Could a homeless person sleep here and be protected from the weather?' If the answer is yes, you tear it down and put up a rope pyramid, then make sure any chairs nearby are curved in a way that'd prevent anybody from lying down while you're at it. If anybody asks why you tore down an awesome wooden fort with views of the lake, mumble something about splinters or treated pine.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 6:21 PM on June 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Australian playgrounds are designed with a single specification: 'Could a homeless person sleep here and be protected from the weather?' If the answer is yes, you tear it down and put up a rope pyramid, then make sure any chairs nearby are curved in a way that'd prevent anybody from lying down while you're at it. If anybody asks why you tore down an awesome wooden fort with views of the lake, mumble something about splinters or treated pine.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 6:21 PM on June 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Generally that's true, but there is the Pod Playground.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 8:07 PM on June 29, 2017
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 8:07 PM on June 29, 2017
Very nice photos.
Also, yes, Japan has some very nice playgrounds.
But, they are often eerily devoid of children. When we were living with playground-age kids in a residential area in Japan, we had about three very nice playgrounds within walking distance. We usually had the whole thing to ourselves. And in various parts of the country, I often saw playgrounds and thought: "Oh, another nice playground - again, no kids."
posted by sour cream at 1:18 AM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Also, yes, Japan has some very nice playgrounds.
But, they are often eerily devoid of children. When we were living with playground-age kids in a residential area in Japan, we had about three very nice playgrounds within walking distance. We usually had the whole thing to ourselves. And in various parts of the country, I often saw playgrounds and thought: "Oh, another nice playground - again, no kids."
posted by sour cream at 1:18 AM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
the reason we don't have them in the US (at least on older playgrounds) is that we lean toward using prefabs here rather than bespoke equipment?
There are an elaborate set of safety requirements that new playgrounds have to meet such that you pretty much have to order from a handful of specialized companies or be exposed to lawsuits. New playgrounds need to comply with ADA as well. Certified playground safety inspectors are a thing in the parks and rec world. Municipalities will have their sets audited regularly to ensure safety. There is still room for custom-made playgrounds in the world but it'd be a good idea to have a landscape architect involved.
posted by BinGregory at 6:40 AM on June 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
There are an elaborate set of safety requirements that new playgrounds have to meet such that you pretty much have to order from a handful of specialized companies or be exposed to lawsuits. New playgrounds need to comply with ADA as well. Certified playground safety inspectors are a thing in the parks and rec world. Municipalities will have their sets audited regularly to ensure safety. There is still room for custom-made playgrounds in the world but it'd be a good idea to have a landscape architect involved.
posted by BinGregory at 6:40 AM on June 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
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posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 10:51 AM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]