page_title: Underground city
section_title: Japan
hierarchical_section_title: Underground city / Japan
caption_attribution_description: English: Tenjin Chikagai (Tenjin underground city) in Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan日本語: 福岡市中央区・天神地下街
context_page_description: An underground city is a series of linked subterranean spaces that may provide a defensive refuge; a place for living, working or shopping; a transit system; mausolea; wine or storage cellars; cisterns or drainage channels; or several of these.
  The term may also refer to a network of tunnels that connects buildings beneath street level that may house office blocks, shopping malls, metro stations, theatres, and other attractions. These passages can usually be accessed through the public space of any of the buildings connecting to them, and sometimes have separate entries as well. This latter definition encompasses many modern structures, whereas the former more generally covers tunnel systems from ancient times to the present day.
  Underground cities are especially functional in cities with very cold or hot climates, because they permit activities to be comfortably accessible year round without regard to the weather. Underground cities are similar in nature to skyway systems and may include some buildings linked by skyways or above-ground corridors rather than underground.
  Some cities also have tunnels that have been abandoned.
context_section_description: The top five largest underground "cities" (地下街, chikagai) in Japan are all shopping districts:
  Crysta Nagahori in Chūō-ku, Osaka – 81,765 m² (880,111 sq ft)
  Yaesu Chikagai in Chūō, Tokyo – 73,253 m² (788,489 sq ft)
  Kawasaki Azalea in Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki – 56,704 m² (610,357 sq ft)
  Central Park Chikagai in Naka-ku, Nagoya – 56,370 m² (606,762 sq ft)
  Diamor Osaka in Kita-ku, Osaka – 42,977 m² (462,601 sq ft)
  Osaka has enormous underground networks in the Umeda, Namba, and Shinsaibashi districts, in which Umeda alone includes over 1,200 retail stores and restaurants, as well as subway and intercity rail stations.
  See also Alice City.
  Tokyo's subway lines are owned by Tokyo Metro (9 lines) and Toei (4 lines), mostly within the 23 special wards. Near the center of the city, connecting passages between stations that span a few blocks exist for commuters. Stations such as Shinjuku and Shibuya have underground shopping malls. Tokyo's network of tunnels is seen as one of the many megalopolis features of the city.
  Shinjuku underground has a reputation for being so large that people, even local Japanese, get lost there. It is in fact so complex, it is mapped by Google maps, in the same way that above ground road networks are, so that people can use their smartphones for navigation.
caption: Tenjin Underground City in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "SONY DSC", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "DSLR-A350", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Paint Shop Pro Photo 11.30", "Image DateTime": "2009:03:03 12:06:17", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "250", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "942", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "12393", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/13", "EXIF FNumber": "7/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:08:21 11:19:15", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:08:21 11:19:15", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "8", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "81/50", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "3/10", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "361/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "18", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1920", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1280", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "800", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "27", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}