A memory that I had seen in a magazine and that remained in a corner of my mind suddenly came back to me and rushed me, so I went to Negishi, Yokohama. My destination was, as the title of this article suggests, the former Negishi Racecourse.
Anyway, I went there and took some pictures, starting with this one.
For those of you who are wondering what the heck this is all about, here is a site for example.
With the opening of Japan to the outside world at the end of the Edo period, Yokohama became a town with many foreign residents. Japan’s first Western-style racetrack was built on top of a hill in Negishi in 1866 (Keio 2). This was before the start of Meiji era (1868-1912), so it is easy to see how the momentum of Western culture that flowed into this town was tremendous.
The building I photographed is the First-class Horse Viewing Stand, which was constructed in 1929 after collapsing during the Great Kanto Earthquake. The adjoining second-class horse observation stand was also still standing, but it was demolished in the 1980s due to its age and danger. Although the first-class horse showroom was designated as a “Heritage of Industrial Modernization” by the METI in 2009, it is enclosed and off-limits, but to my untrained eyes, it does not appear to have undergone any major restoration or preservation work. I wonder if this is safe.
To reach the site, take a Yokohama City bus from Negishi Station up a steep hill to the Negishi Forest Park bus stop, which takes several minutes. Then it took about 10 minutes on foot, including the time I spent getting lost after climbing up and down the hillside in the park. As I found out later, it would probably be faster to walk to this building from Yamamoto-cho 4-chome bus stop(although it is quite an uphill walk).
Regarding to the First-class Horse Viewing Stand, I thought I came here to photograph a “valuable heritage” building of the “old era”, and it is indeed a sight to behold, but I feel like I am photographing “ruins”.
↑If you look at the photo up top, you can see that it is a “viewing stand” as I see it.
This is what it looks like when you go behind the stand.
Architectural drawings and rare photos from the “active” era are also posted on site, giving the impression that this area is being preserved as a park facility.
I’m sure there are many difficult aspects to this project, but I hope they make good progress on the restoration and seismic retrofitting.
The entire old racecourse, including the stand, is a vast park. The sight of kids enthusiastically practicing basketball underfoot contrasts nicely with the aged structures.
I would like to see the facility properly repaired, preserved, and if possible, restored into a facility that can be toured inside. I was a little bit surprised to see that the building looks a bit like an abandoned building, so I decided to try a hard black-and-white finish in the style of an abandoned building photo.
Apart from my inner wish, I thought this would be an interesting photo.
This time I only took pictures of buildings, so the next article will be about the forest park and the surrounding area.
