Tropical cafe harnesses 'heat-island' effect

05/09/2007

SUMMARY

For its sweltering heat, Tokyo is now said to be a concrete jungle. But one man took advantage of that and lead his business to success. Fukushima, 52, is the owner of Vifu, a cafe in Shinjuku ward hit upon the idea of harnessing the so-called heat-island effect which exacerbates the humid summer heat of Tokyo's central business district. Rather than fight the heat-island effect, he opted to tap into it to create a steamy environment that is perfect for growing tropical foliage like crawling vines, leafy tropical fruits and etcetra. In tokyo, there is a Tokyo metropolitan government ordinance that obliges newly constructed condominiums to create space for greenery on the premises. Such greenery tends to focus on fairly bland trees that are planted instead of fences and barriers. Fukushima says if he could plant tropical trees instead, that would be more entertaining for the residents.

BY MAKOTO AKAMATSU, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200705020384.html