Articles

Places that used to be sea. Trace reclaimed land through aerial photographs and maps

Toyosu, Minato Mirai, Port Island, Rinku Town. Places that were sea surface or sandy beaches in the aerial photographs of the 1940s became, through reclamation, towns lined with stations and high-rise buildings. From Tokyo Bay to Ise Bay, Osaka Bay, and Hakata Bay, this article traces, together with the records of elevation and land prices, the moments when land appears on the sea as you step through the eras.

An elevation comparison. Read low towns and high towns from the terrain

Universal City is at the bottom at -0.2 m, and Hokusetsu Sanda New Town is at the top at 189.5 m. If you line up the locations on Kakomap in order of elevation, the low side divides into reclaimed land and former factory sites, and the high side into new towns made by cutting hills. This article reads ups and downs and even breaks at water surfaces in the two cross-section graphs, east-west and north-south, and traces the differences in how towns were born through the numbers.

Towns born by cutting away mountains. Traces of new town grading

Senri-Chuo, Myodani, Tama Center, Tama Plaza, Makomanai. The grading that cuts hills to make flat ground was a single civil engineering work that included even where the cut earth and sand went. This article lines up the bare ground under grading left in the aerial photographs, the steps of elevation in the four directions, and where the soil carried to the sea in Kobe went, and traces how the towns opened on the hills came to be.

Towns born on former rail yard sites, seen in aerial photographs

Umeda, Suita, Nagamachi, Shizuoka, Okayama, and Shiodome. The rail yards that sorted freight cars kept appearing in aerial photographs as blanks that people could not enter, even though they lay right beside stations. With the abolition of yard-based freight car regrouping in 1984 as the turning point, this article traces location by location the change in which those blanks are replaced by skyscrapers, hospitals, and parks.

Redevelopment of former factory sites compared in aerial photographs

Ebisu, Kawasaki, Hakata, Sapporo, Tsukuda, Amagasaki, Osaki, Kurashiki, and Osaka. The large lots once occupied by breweries, shipyards, and spinning mills were replaced by commercial facilities, residential districts, and a ballpark through redevelopment from the 1990s on. This article lines up the 1961-69 aerial photographs with the photographs as of 2026 and reads the size of the change from the texture value and the trend of the official land prices.

Read the memory of coal mines and steelworks in aerial photographs

Kamaishi, Omuta, Iwaki-Yumoto, Higashida, Kashima, and Mizushima. Land that prospered on coal and iron has, after mine closures and blast furnace shutdowns, either changed into residential areas, tourist spots, and museum districts, or still has blast furnaces running. This article lines up the aerial photographs from 1961-69 on and the photograph as of 2026, and reads how the six locations changed from the elevation and the course of the official land prices.

Trace the danchi called the largest in the East through aerial photographs

Kori, Tokiwadaira, Takesato, Takashimadaira, Otokoyama. The large danchi that the Japan Housing Corporation built from 1958 to 1972 rose all at once on the site of a gunpowder factory, on paddies, and on hill forests. By overlaying the year occupancy began with the aerial photographs, elevation, and official land price records, this article traces the starting point of the danchi as a town.

Places where a new station and a town were born at the same time, seen in aerial photographs

Megumino, Chiba New Town Chuo, Flower Town, Nagareyama-Otakanomori, Izumi-Chuo, and Takanawa Gateway. The photographs from before the tracks were laid show fields, woods, and a rolling stock depot. This article steps through the aerial photographs by era across the year of opening, compares places where the station called the town with places where the station was added to the town later, and also lines up the movement of the official land prices counted from the year of opening.

Forty years of official land prices laid over aerial photographs of new towns

Otokoyama Danchi, Minami-Machida, Myodani, Rakusai New Town, and Tama Plaza. If you line up the official land prices from 1983 to 2026, the peak around 1991 and the valley of the early 2010s remain just as they were in a single line graph. This article lays the aerial photographs from before grading over the price records and traces 40 years of towns opened on hills.

Compare aerial photographs by era: from 1928 to fiscal 2007

The aerial photographs (old air photos) of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) that you can see on this site come in nine eras, from 1928 to fiscal 2007. This article explains who took each era, in which regions you can see it, and how the way it appears differs, together with examples of locations where you can compare. It also touches on the correspondence with the Showa and Heisei era years and on the fact that satellite images are not included.

How to read old aerial photographs: how to use Kakomap

Old aerial photographs start to make sense when you look first for what has not changed rather than what has. This article uses locations where you can actually compare then and now as examples and explains step by step how to switch eras on a location page and compare them, and what the elevation, the change figures, and the official land price fields each show and how to read them.

60 years of the Tokyo Bay shore: the changing purposes of reclamation

Daiba, Yumenoshima and Shinkiba, Oi Pier, Ariake, Toyosu, Tennozu, Takanawa Gateway City, and Tonomachi. On the shore of Tokyo Bay, the purpose of reclamation has changed with each era in which the land moved out to sea. This article lines up aerial photographs by era, elevation cross-sections, and the course of the official land prices, and follows, location by location, the path from the defenses of Edo through timber storage ponds and logistics hubs to research and development blocks.

Sixty years of the Osaka Bay shore: changes through reclamation and redevelopment

On the shore of Osaka Bay, many places were sea or factories in the aerial photographs of the 1960s. This article reads Sakishima, Rinku Town, Universal City, and Kobe's artificial islands through the eras of the photographs, the elevation of the land, and the trend of official land prices, and sorts out the patterns of redevelopment that advanced in stages along the bay shore.

Sixty years of the three great new towns: Senri, Tama, and Senboku

Senri, Tama, and Senboku are large-scale new towns often named together for their scale and pioneering role. This article matches the eras of the aerial photographs against the elevation of the land and the series of official land prices and reads closely, with Kozoji added, the feature they share of grading hills and the differences that the gaps in their opening years brought to the trend of land prices.

Compare the terrain of dug-in ports in aerial photographs

This article lines up ports made by digging down into the land to create a water surface, not by filling in the sea, in the 1961-69 aerial photographs and as of 2026. At Kashima, Tomakomai, Toyama Shinko, Tagonoura, Sendai Port, and others, it reads the process by which sand dunes, sandy beaches, and lagoons were replaced by shipping channels and quays from the shapes in the photographs, the elevations, and the series of official land prices.

Where did the rafts of the timber storage ponds disappear first? Old photographs of Shinkiba, Ariake, and Toyosu

At the timber storage ponds of Shinkiba, Ariake, and Toyosu, in what order did the rafts of logs that filled the water disappear? This article steps through the aerial photographs from 1961-69 to 1987-90 location by location and reads the time lag with which the water cleared in the order Toyosu, Ariake, Shinkiba, the outlines of the ponds that remain in the photograph as of 2026, and the difference from the water at Kobe and Ujina.

Towns on plateaus and towns in the hills. Why are new towns up on hills?

Why are so many new towns on hills or plateaus? If you line up the elevations of Chiba New Town Chuo, Nagareyama-Otakanomori, Ryugasaki New Town, Tsukuba Science City, Yukarigaoka, and Tokiwadaira Danchi, the six locations in the Kanto region line up at around 20 m. This article compares them with the hills of Senri-Chuo and Minami-Osawa and reads the differences in terrain from the values measured at five points, the center and the four directions.

Old photographs of four stations on the Den-en-toshi Line: from Futako-Tamagawa to Minami-Machida

Futako-Tamagawa, Tama Plaza, Aobadai, and Minami-Machida Grandberry Park. If you line up four stations on the Den-en-toshi Line in aerial photographs of the same era, you can see the order in which towns appeared on the hills and the order of the heights at which the stations were placed. This article reads the extensions from 1966 to 1984 together with the elevation records from 12.9 m to 71.7 m.

Land readjustment in Esaka: how the grid of blocks took shape

The area around Esaka Station was flat paddy land spreading north of the Kanzaki River. Using the aerial photographs from c. 1928 to 1984-86, this article reads the order in which the paddy plots gave way to a grid of blocks after the era when a north-south straight line arrived, and the diagonal band that stayed outside the grid, then sets it beside the official land price records of Toyotsu-cho and the grids of Moriya and Numazu Station Area.

Former sites of regional expositions. Portopia, the Yokohama Exposition, and Yokatopia as they once were

Portopia '81 in 1981, the Yokohama Exposition and Yokatopia in 1989, and the World Resort Expo in 1994. Most of the venues were reclaimed land whose grading had only just been finished. This article traces the former venues at Port Island, Minato Mirai, Momochihama, and Wakayama Marina City through the eras of the aerial photographs and through the Ferris wheel and museum that remained after the expositions closed.

US military housing and reclamation in Honmoku: read the eras when the shoreline moved out to sea

In Honmoku, Yokohama, the natural arc of shoreline that rounded the cape in the 1945-50 aerial photograph has retreated beyond reclaimed land by 1961-69. This article reads, era by era, the time lag between the land where US military family housing stayed as grassland until its return in 1982 and the sea that changed first, and sets it beside Minato Mirai, Kanazawa Seaside Town, and Hikarigaoka.

How an artificial island differs from reclaimed land: photographs of Port Island, Daiba, and others

Artificial islands and reclaimed land are both land made by filling in the sea, but an artificial island leaves water between itself and the shore. This article steps through the aerial photographs of Port Island, Rokko Island, Island City, Daiba, and Nanko Port Town in order of era, and traces how to tell them apart by whether the water between the land and the shore remains to the end, along with the Fukuoka case where a plan connected to the mainland was changed to an island.

Does the Keiyo Line run on reclaimed land? Old photographs from Shinkiba to Chiba Minato

Is the land along the Keiyo Line reclaimed land? If you line up the four stations of Shinkiba, Maihama, Kaihimmakuhari, and Chiba Minato in aerial photographs of the same eras, every station position is sea or tidal flat in the old photographs, and the order from the land forming to the tracks arriving comes into view. This article checks each station together with the openings from 1986 to 1990.

Hamamatsu Station, Himeji Station, Toyama Station, and Takamatsu Station in old photographs

Northeast of Hamamatsu Station, the north exit side of Himeji Station, north of Toyama Station, and the area in front of Takamatsu Station. If you step through the eras of the aerial photographs, the freight and port land that adjoined these 4 stations is replaced by halls, plazas, and waterside parks. This article lines up the four places, Act City Hamamatsu, Casty 21, Fugan Canal Kansui Park, and Sunport Takamatsu, with their elevation and official land price records.

Aerial photographs from 1974-78: what stage of grading is Tama Center at?

In the 1974-78 aerial photographs, towns in the middle of grading line up across the country. Tama Center has only tracks on bare ground, Kaihimmakuhari and Kinjo-futo have only lot lines, and rows of residential buildings stand at Kozoji New Town and Myodani. This article divides them into three stages, ground only / lots only / residential buildings, and reads each town's construction process from a single photograph.

What did the former arsenal sites become? Tokyo Dome, Morinomiya, Suzuka, and Hiratsuka

The land left behind when military arsenals and powder arsenals moved away took a different form at each place: a ballpark and a dome, a park and railway tracks, a factory town, and a tire factory. This article steps through the aerial photographs by era at four places, Suidobashi, Morinomiya, Suzuka, and Hiratsuka, and compares the difference between eras that show the factories and eras that do not, and the lines on each former site that do not move through the eras.

The Port of Nagoya, Ujina, Kobe, and Otaru: old photographs and today's shore

Nagoya Port Garden Pier, Ujina in Hiroshima, Kobe Harborland, Otaru-Chikko, and Mojiko Retro. Shores that transit sheds and freight cars occupied at the water's edge in the 1945-50 and 1961-69 aerial photographs have been replaced by piers and plazas as of 2026. This article lines up, port by port, the number of eras you can trace in photographs, the elevation at the center, and the official land price records, and reads them.

Momochihama before reclamation: where in the town does the line of the bathing beach remain?

Before reclamation, Momochihama was a sandy beach backed by pine woods. Among the aerial photographs, the 1974-78 one is the last era that shows the beach, and reclamation began in 1982. This article traces where in the town the line of the beach went, comparing it with Ashiyahama, Rinku Town, Wakayama Marina City, and the Kasumigaura district of Yokkaichi.

Trace the old names: towns on the day their district names changed

The former district name of Minato Mirai was Midori-cho, Yokodai was five districts including Sasage-cho, and the station area of Nagareyama-Otakanomori was in the sub-district of Ichinoya. This article also takes in Center-Kita and Heiwajima / Oi Pier and traces what appears in the aerial photographs from before the names were given and how many meters above sea level the land is, together with the dates of the name changes and the official land price records.

Musashi-Kosugi before redevelopment: the factory station area in photographs from seven eras

This article steps in order through Musashi-Kosugi before redevelopment in aerial photographs from seven eras, from around 1936-42 to 1987-90. The factory site held by the arc of the tracks remains until the last of the past photographs. It compares the location with Lazona Kawasaki, Osaki Garden City, Yebisu Garden Place, and the factory land of Tonomachi, and reads the order in which things were replaced.

Places in Nagoya that used to be sea: old photographs of Kinjo-futo and the Port of Nagoya

This article traces places in Nagoya that used to be sea, in order, through aerial photographs of Kinjo-futo, Nagoya Port Garden Pier, and Sasashima Live. It reads the order in which the offshore area that was shallow sea in 1945-50 became pentagonal land and the shores for setting down cargo changed into places where people gather, together with the elevation and official land price records and alongside Yokkaichi on the west shore of Ise Bay.

Land readjustment at Sendai Station East Exit: until the east side of the tracks became large blocks

The east exit of Sendai Station is the side where, behind the west that gained a grid of streets through postwar reconstruction, narrow strip-shaped lots from the castle town and roads about 7 m wide remained. This article compares the two sides of the tracks in the aerial photographs from 1945-50 to 1984-86, reads the order in which two land readjustment projects rebuilt the roads, and sets it beside Asuto Nagamachi, Utsunomiya Station East Exit, and Takasaki Station East Exit.

Tokyo and Osaka in prewar aerial photographs from around 1936-42

Prewar aerial photographs taken around 1936-42 remain for the 23 wards of Tokyo and the area around the City of Osaka. This article opens the prewar photograph at Shiodome Sio-Site, Okawabata River City 21, Yebisu Garden Place, Takashimadaira Danchi, and Futako-Tamagawa and traces how blacked-out squares, white riverbeds, and paddies covering the whole area were replaced in the 1961-69 photograph.

Read the elevation along the Tama River: Tonomachi, Kawasaki, Musashi-Kosugi, and Futako-Tamagawa

From the mouth of the Tama River upstream: 0.8 m at Ukishima / Tonomachi, 2.8 m at Lazona Kawasaki, 8.3 m at Musashi-Kosugi, and 12.9 m at Futako-Tamagawa. This article lines up the center elevation of the four locations, the height differences in four directions, and the approximate distance to the river channel, and follows, starting from the river-mouth side, what the aerial photographs from around 1936-42 to 1987-90 show.

Old photographs of tower apartment towns: Musashi-Kosugi, Ebina, and Musashi-Urawa

Musashi-Kosugi, Futako-Tamagawa, Musashi-Urawa, Ebina, Saitama-Shintoshin, and Sasashima Live. The station areas where tall buildings now stand in rows were all towns of low roofs in the 1987-90 aerial photographs. This article lines up, for six station areas, the old eras that show factories, freight rail yards, and paddies, the center elevation, and the records of the official land prices, and traces what each place was before the buildings went up.