Pages From Fukuoka - Lab for a Grren Future

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Lab for a

green future

BY JULIAN RYALL

Fukuoka is not only one of the most liveable cities in the world, but it

has pioneered technology that has advanced its green credentials

TRAVEL

38 THE CLUB



Central Park,

also called “Grin

Grin Park”, on

Island City inHakata Bay

was designed

by innovative

architect

Toyo Ito

39 THE CLUB

For years, Fukuoka was widely known as the

closest city that Japan had to Venice. It might

not have enjoyed the splendid architecture,

piazzas or the Basilica San Marco of the Italian

city, but the people of the largest metropolis

on Kyushu, Japan’s most southerly main island,

prided themselves on the carefully maintained

network of rivers that emptied into the grace-

ful curve of Hakata Bay and gave Fukuoka its blue credentials.

Today, however, the capital of Kyushu is forging a new identity

for itself as green complements the blue.

Not satisfied with pioneering a method of semi-aerobic

landfill known the world over as “The Fukuoka Method”, the

city has gone on to implement some highly exacting rubbish-

segregating standards for both homes and businesses. And

it has ambitious plans to turn itself into the world’s first city

to be powered by hydrogen, a project that is under way and

will eventually evolve into a “corridor” of homes and busi-

nesses linking Fukuoka with the larger cities of Osaka, Nagoya

and, eventually, the mammoth Tokyo, some 900 kilometres

to the east.

All that and yet Fukuoka is still regarded as the most pleas-

ant place to live in Japan and among the best in the world. In

its annual quality of life survey in July 2010, Britain’sMonocle

magazine ranked Fukuoka the 14th “most liveable” city on the

planet, thanks in part to its air connections with the rest of

Asia, its low crime rate, sub-tropical climate, excellent public

transport services and cultural opportunities.

City authorities also received high marks for subsidising local

residents who want to install solar-energy systems in their

homes to the tune of USD1.2 million. Elsewhere, funds have

been invested in the creation of green spaces throughout the



ACROS

Fukuoka

Building has

become a

symbol of the

city’s green

movement

P h o t o s . P r e v i o u s p a g e : P h o t o l i b r a r

y . A

C R O S : E m i l i o A M B A S Z ,

A r c h i t e c t , H o n o r a r y F e l l o w , A m e r i c

a n I n s t i t u t e o f A r c h i t e c t s ( H o n . F

A I A )

40 THE CLUB

urban area and revamping its parks, with special emphasis on

the area around the port district in Hakata Ward.

City elders are also considering a plan to introduce a car-

sharing scheme and are experimenting with renting out

Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric vehicles for free to registered mem-

bers of the public in order to promote awareness of the need

to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.

The need to be green has been seized upon by many resi-

dents of Fukuoka, where the early stages of the Hydrogen Town

Scheme – known as the Hy-Life Project – are under way.

“I always take my own bag when I go shopping so I don’t

have to use a plastic bag and, of course, I never use disposable

chopsticks, even in a restaurant,” says Tomoko Tatsukawa, 52,

a housewife who lives in neighbouring Itosima city. “I also

pick up rubbish that other people have dropped whenever

I go out for a walk.”

Tatsukawa and her family of four are participating in the

Hydrogen Town Scheme. “I have always been interested in

taking care of the environment and I thought I might be able

to contribute something myself.

“Having our home powered by hydrogen is no different

from using electricity and the change has not been inconven-

ient at all,” she says. “I am really happy to think that what we

are doing is contributing to reducing emissions of CO₂.”



Hanging

gardens in

the Canal CityHakata complex

P h o t o s . H a n g i n g G a r d e n s : T o n y M c N i c o l

Terms and conditions

Enjoy complimentary AirportExpress tickets on packages toFukuoka

Members of The Marco Polo Club who book any

3-day/2-night Fukuoka package from Cathay Pacific

Holidays will receive two complimentary Airport

Express tickets. Package prices start from HKD3,799

and include:

Round-trip Economy Class or Business Class flight

between Hong Kong and Fukuoka on Dragonair

Accommodation for 2 consecutive nights at

selected hotelsDaily breakfast at selected hotels

Travel insurance

You’ll enjoy the convenience of Dragonair direct f lights

– and a choice of hotels in Fukuoka, Nagasaki or

relaxing onsen resorts in Beppu and Yufuin.

For reservations, please contact Cathay Holidays Limited:

Telephone: +852 2747 4388

Website: www.cxholidays.com

P A R T N E R O F F E R

41 THE CLUB

The Hy-Life Project is a collaboration between the prefec-

ture, a number of city authorities, private companies, research

institutes and universities, with the National Institute for

Advanced Industrial Science and Technology establishing

one of the most advanced hydrogen research and develop-

ment centres in the world on the local campus of Kyushu

University, which is acting as the centre for all research into

the use of hydrogen energy.

The first home-use fuel cell was installed in October 2008

and the concept is remarkably simple. Homes are supplied

with hydrogen to generate electricity that is then used to

power lights and heat water. In parallel, a network of hydrogen

filling stations is being established so drivers can top up their

hydrogen-powered cars, such as Honda’s FCX Clarity.

Hydrogen is already being supplied to some homes.

Japan’s largest steel-maker, for example, makes hydrogen

as a by-product and had previously simply burned it off as



HOME GENERATORS REDUCE

CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONSBY ABOUT 30 PERCENT

Kunihiro

Tonegawa with

the hydrogen

power

generator

outside his

Maebaru home

42 THE CLUB

TRAVEL

waste. Nippon Steel now pipes it to properties in Fukuoka and

the first car-filling stations in nearby Kitakyushu City.

The plan is for a network of more than 5,000 filling stations

to be operational by 2030, with some auto-industry analysts

estimating that as many as 15 million hydrogen-powered cars

may be on Japan’s roads by that time.

For individual properties, Nippon Oil and Saibu Gas Energy

are installing miniaturised hydrogen generators known as

fuel-cell stacks that are small enough to stand unobtrusively

in a back garden. Efforts are under way to make the units

even more compact, enabling them to be sited on apart-

ment balconies.

The generators produce hydrogen through a chemical

reaction between natural gas and water. The aim is to pro-

duce hydrogen from water without the need for natural gas

at all. Through the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen,

sufficient energy is produced to power about 60 percent of the

average family home’s needs. After that, households need to

use the mains electricity again. The designers of the scheme

hope to increase the efficiency of the system and, eventually,

provide all the power that a home needs from the fuel cells.

According to the operators’ calculations, the home genera-

tors reduce both energy consumption and carbon dioxide

emissions by about 30 percent.

Community groups in Fukuoka volunteer to separate

household rubbish into items that are burnable and others –



Misakigaoka

residential area

of Maebaru

City, known as

Hydrogen Town

P h o t o s . P o w e r g e n e r a t o r , H y d r o g e n T o w n : R o b e r t G i l h o o l y

Terms and conditions

Enjoy a complimentary roomupgrade and more

From 16 February to 15 May 2011, stay at Grand Hyatt

Fukuoka at the Hyatt Daily Rate for a minimum of two

consecutive nights – and you’ll enjoy exciting benefits,

including:

Complimentary upgrade to a Club Room upon

reservation

A 10% discount on food and beverage at hotel

restaurants and bars

Grand Hyatt Fukuoka is located in the heart of Fukuoka city, adjacent to the entertainment and

business district. The hotel is part of Canal City Hakata,

a multi-purpose complex featuring cinemas, a

performing arts theatre, and some 150 restaurants and

shops.

To enjoy this offer, quote your membership number

and promotion code “MP734” when making your

reservation, and present your membership card upon

check-in.

Telephone: +81 92 282 1234Email: [email protected]

Website: fukuoka.grand.hyatt.com

P A R T N E R O F F E R

43 THE CLUB

such as glass, plastics or metal – that can be recycled. They

also prowl the beaches on the outskirts of the city to collect

washed-up rubbish.

A flier distributed by the Fukuoka City Environmental

Bureau encourages residents to follow “The 3 R’s”: reducing

the amount of waste they produce; reusing things they might

otherwise throw away; and recycling everything from old

newspapers to bottles, beer cans and the plastic trays for

food used by supermarkets.

The city has also introduced a system whereby household

waste is collected late at night, partly because unsightly rubbish



THE CITY’S ENTIRE GREEN

MOVEMENT CAN TRACE

ITS ROOTS BACK TO

‘THE FUKUOKA METHOD’

Fukuoka residents can

rent a Mitsubishi i-MiEV

to gain awareness of

carbon emissions P h o t o s . P o w e r s t a t i o n : J i j i P r e s s / P A

N A . S

h o p p i n g b a g : G e t t y I m a g e s

44 THE CLUB

TRAVEL

is not then left lying around the city during daylight hours but

also to prevent rubbish trucks getting stuck in traffic jams and

emitting unnecessary CO₂.Retailers have taken to the green ethos, with the Canal City

Hakata complex of stores, a cinema, outdoor cafés and a hotel

designed by Jon Jerde to have a canal running through it. The

ACROS Fukuoka Building was dreamed up by Emilio Ambasz

as a stepped emporium that also houses the city’s symphony

hall and has wide terraces that cascade onto the levels below,

reducing temperatures in the hot summer months.

The latest major project is the construction of Island City.

As the name suggests, a 400-hectare patch of reclaimed landin Hakata Bay will be home to businesses and homes when it

is completed. Other municipal initiatives include “eco-town”

projects in neighbouring Kitakyushu and Omuta City, the

recycling of crushed waste from cars and the creation of

the Fukuoka Research Centre for Recycling Systems. But

the city’s entire green movement can trace its roots back to

“The Fukuoka Method”.

In 1966, Fukuoka University began research into landfill

technology to improve the quality of the liquid that

leaches from the waste. In the following years,

working with the city, it was learned that

more air within the landfill not only

enhanced the decomposition proc-

ess and quickly stabilised the waste

thanks to improved activity by

microbes, but that it also reduced



Fukuoka’s photovoltaic

power station is one of

the largest run by a local

government in Japan(above)

Local shoppers avoid

using plastic bags (left)

45 THE CLUB

the amount of methane, hydrogen sulphide and other gases

that can build up.

The first semi-aerobic landfill development was tested in

1975 and produced less than 50 percent of the greenhouse

gases emitted by a conventional landfill. The model was

subsequently adopted across Japan and in towns in China,

Malaysia, Vietnam and Samoa.

Along with the baseball team – the much-loved Hawks –

the 1.5 million residents of Fukuoka are proud of their place

in green history and most have no desire to swap this peace-

ful and compact city for the bright lights of Tokyo or Osaka.

Where else, they ask, does life get this good?

“When I have free time, I like to go bird-watching along the

coast, at the place where the Japanese islands are across the

straits from the Korean Peninsula,” says Takeo Tashiro, 51, who

has lived in the city for the past 30 years. “You can see many

kinds of migratory birds there in the spring and autumn, but

I also get a sense of our role in the world there.”

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