Tokyo Rainy Day Activities: 5 Places to See Rain Chains
Another Way to Spend a Rainy Day
Sheltering indoors is the obvious answer to a wet day in Tokyo. There is an older one. Japan has spent centuries paying attention to rainwater as it falls from an eave, and to the sound it makes on the way down. A rain chain is that habit built into a modern building.
The five places below are all close to somewhere you were probably going anyway.
Where to See Rain Chains Around Tokyo
1. Co-op Kyosai Plaza
A short walk from Harajuku and Meiji Jingu Shrine, so it fits into a day you were already spending in that part of the city. The building blends a planted green wall with 720 rain chains. The chains are purely decorative and carry no water, even in rain. The 720 chains are a striking sight: graphic lines of metal set against living leaves, on a facade you will not find anywhere else.
Visiting:
- Address: Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo
- Access: exterior only, visible from the street at any hour
Read the project story:
2. Seo Rain Chain Showroom, Shinjuku
Our showroom is in Shinjuku, which is easy to fit into a day in the city. Many rain chains hang on display, and only the tube-style chains have water running through them. You can watch the water move smoothly and hear its gentle sound up close. It is a good place to picture how a rain chain will look and sound once it is installed.
Visiting:
- Address: Living Design Center Ozone, 7th floor, Shinjuku Park Tower, 3-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo
- Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- Closed: Wednesdays, following the Ozone calendar
Plan your visit:
3. Takanawa Gateway City
Close to Shinagawa and a short ride from Haneda Airport, so it works as a first or last stop on a trip. The chains run in the open courtyard between the buildings, alongside the greenery.
Visiting:
- Address: Konan, Minato, Tokyo
- Access: outdoors, open at any hour
4. Novare
One ride from Tokyo Station on the JR Keiyo Line, in Shiomi. It is the innovation and training campus of Shimizu Corporation, a construction firm, and it puts traditional building craft next to advanced design. The rain chains here are custom-made Toh L. On a wet day they are the one moving thing on a very still building.
Visiting:
- Address: Shiomi, Koto, Tokyo
- Access: exterior only, visible from the street at any hour
5. Yokohama City Hall (South of Tokyo)
The city moved here in 2020 from its old red-brick hall. The new building was designed to be open to the city. Roses, the flower of Yokohama, grow in the garden outside, and the ground-floor atrium holds public events.
The rain chains are custom Toh L in silver, and you see them from inside the atrium, looking out. It sits on the waterfront, an easy addition to a day in Minato Mirai or Sakuragicho.
Visiting:
- Address: Honcho, Naka, Yokohama, Kanagawa
- Access: exterior only, visible from the street at any hour
Rain Chains Beyond Tokyo
The chains turn up across Japan, in old places and new ones.
Three sit inside historic settings: the Treasure House at Nikko Toshogu Shrine, Matsushima Station, and Kanazawa Castle Park. Matsushima is the gateway to one of the Three Views of Japan.
Osaka Castle Park and Hiroshima Gate Park are busy modern parks. There the chains do the opposite: On a wet day they are the thing that moves.
Read about these two:
Before the Next Rainy Day
A wet day in Tokyo is not a day to write off. The digital art museums and the indoor attractions are there, and they are good. So is walking a little farther to stand under an eave and watch water come down a chain.
Some buildings only look finished in the rain. The next time it comes down, that is worth an hour.
Browse every rain chain:
