Tokyo’s Ginza marks 20 years of urban beekeeping

A project to raise honeybees in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district has marked the 20th anniversary this year, with the annual honey harvest soaring to 2.8 tons from the initial 150 kilograms.

Designed to foster harmony between cities and nature, the project has had many followers nationwide. It is seen as a model for urban beekeeping.

“I hope the project will prompt people to give a thought about the urban environment,” a project member said.

In March 2006, volunteers set up three hives on the roof of an 11-story building in Ginza. Now about 50 hives sit on rooftops in Ginza and the nearby Otemachi business district, housing 500,000 to 600,000 bees.

Members of the project harvest honey from April to the end of July. About 2.8 tons were collected last year, and some of the honey is sold online and used in local department stores and restaurants.

The Ginza project inspired a similar initiative in Sapporo in 2010, when a nonprofit organization installed hives on a building rooftop for community development and regional revitalization. Its founder learned about the Ginza project through an online article.

When starting their activities, Sapporo project members received advice on beekeeping from Ginza project members.

“Through bees, exchanges were created on rooftops, where people wouldn’t gather,” said Shuji Sakai, the 51-year-old head of the NPO.

Urban beekeeping is also practiced on the rooftops and premises of the Nagoya city government building, Hagi Iwami Airport in Masuda, Shimane Prefecture, and Meikai University in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture.

Some honey collected from the rooftop of the Kiyose city government building in Tokyo is offered as a return gift under the country’s furusato nōzei hometown tax donation program.

From its launch, the Ginza project provides environmental education at local elementary schools and holds tours of bee farms and lectures on coexistence between cities and nature.

“I hope we can take this initiative around the world so that we can think about issues related to the urban environment together,” said Atsuo Tanaka, a 68-year-old member.