Deep below Tokyo's crowded streets, in the sub-basement of a skyscraper, a flower grows. So do rice, fruit, vegetables, and herbs. Pasona O2, a former bank vault in the bustling down-town Otemachi district, is a square kilometer of soil-based and hydroponic farmland, lit by LEDs and fluorescent lamps, with temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels controlled by computers. And it's pesticide-free; there are no insects in the basement. "In Japan, because the land is cramped and the population high, this kind of intensive agriculture is flourishing," says Masamoto Takatsuji, a Tokai University specialist in these so-called plant factories.
While the crop yield is relatively small, the farm's builders hope that the spiritual benefits will make it worth the upkeep. Workers in the building can walk amid the greenery, which Takatsuji describes as a "healing space" in this urban desert. Lunch-hour picnic, anyone?
- Tony McNicol
Tokyo oasis: This basement was once a bank vault. Now ités a lush vegetable garden.
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