True livable model – Tsukuba City, Japan

“I love the country more than the city,” DJ, our grandchild #1, happily shared after returning to Tsukuba City from Tokyo.

He and brother Aaron especially love the Hebiyama Koen (the Snake Park) where they love looking out for various insects. They also love Matsushiro Koen where a pond hosts several ducks and geese. They have more choices of parks that abound in the neighborhood.

Every residential community here is required to have a public park!

The parks, where children can run free, boast of wide space, trees/plants/ flowers/kids’ play area/ adult sports facilities/clean public toilets, among others.

These numerous parks and schools have also been designated as disaster evacuation centers.

Yes, Tsukuba City is proud of its fresh air/green environment and nearby Mt. Tsukuba to the north, Lake Kasumigaura, Japan’s second-largest lake, to the east, among numerous beautiful spots to visit.

Gratefully, providentially, I was assigned to pursue my scholarship granted by the Japanese Ministry of Education (referred to as Monbusho then) from 1977-1983 at the University of Tsukuba.

In mid-70s, Tsukuba was still considered inaka (probinsiya, countryside, rural).

As my research topic focused on agrarian reform, I was assigned to Tsukuba University situated in an agricultural town/village then called Sakura-mura (the village of cherry blossoms).

There were silk and other farms within the university.

A number of our cleaning women who were owners of farms chose to do this part-time work which they clearly did not do for cash but for the opportunity to have alternative work aside from farming!

Then, one had to take a train from Ueno Station in Tokyo and commute to Tsuchiura Station in Ibaraki Prefecture via Japan Railway Joban Line.

Foreign scholars used to call this line as “Jodan” Line instead, “jodan” meaning joke, since the Joban trains then were old, even smelly, not so clean, so far from the image of Japanese modern fast trains!

From Tsuchiura, one reached the University of Tsukuba by bus or by taxi.

Scholars like me could only afford the bus so we had to make sure to catch the bus on time for going to Tsukuba University and returning to Tsuchiura Station!

Unlike many Japanese cities that grew naturally, Tsukuba is unique because the city was a result of a carefully-planned project “built as a flagship of Japanese technology and education.”

In 1963, the Japanese Cabinet approved the plan to build Tsukuba Science City to decongest Tokyo’s overcrowding and create a new research and education center.

From 1970, the Tsukuba Science City Construction Act started to be enforced, providing the legal framework for this massive project.

In 1972, the National Institute for Research in Inorganic Materials was the first research institution to move to the new city. In 1973, the University of Tsukuba was founded.

By 1980, most of the planned 43 national research and educational institutions were completed and became operational.

In 1985, Tsukuba gained global recognition by hosting the World Expo ’85 themed "Dwellings and Surroundings — Science and Technology for Man at Home" with over 20 million visitors!

In November 30, 1987, Tsukuba City was officially formed through the merger of neighboring towns and villages.

By 2001, national research institutes were reorganized into independent administrative institutions, giving a new impetus to their development.

By 2005, the Tsukuba Express railways provided high-speed connection to Tokyo (45 minutes by rapid train) which significantly improved the city’s transport accessibility which attracted tourists, researchers, students, more visitors.

Tsukuba City's population growth rate ranked first among cities nationwide as of January 1, 2025 with its proportion of foreign residents notably high compared to Japan’s national average.

Truly, Tsukuba City is where “everyone can co-exist, live, comfortably, humanely together, regardless of diversity (nationality, age, gender, culture, religion, education, health/disability, more) and amidst protected, green nature/environment.