Residents of Tsukamotocho, Ichijoji, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City, have started holding events using an old streetcar in a park in the neighborhood. They plan to hold craft experiences and health classes inside the car, and are exploring the direction of town development using the car.
The car is a streetcar that once ran through the city, and was acquired by Kyoto City about 50 years ago when six neighboring towns, including Tsukamotocho, requested that it be used as a playground equipment for the community. It is about 12 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, and 4 meters high, and weighs 14.6 tons. There is a table inside the car, and it has electricity.
Currently, the neighborhood association fees are used to cover maintenance costs such as painting, reupholstering the seats, and electricity, and wire mesh has been installed to prevent children from breaking the windows when playing ball in the park. Ground golf equipment is also stored inside the car, and it has been used for meetings for executive meetings, Jizobon, and sports days.
Until 20 years ago, about 130 households belonged to the Tsukamotocho neighborhood association. However, the number has been decreasing year by year, and currently stands at 80 households, making maintaining the association a challenge. So they came up with an event that would be easy for local residents to participate in and would also encourage them to join the neighborhood association, and decided on a vehicle as the venue.
The first event will be a woodworking class using electric jigsaws on August 11, followed by a "intestinal health" course for seniors on September 8 and a craft experience using used containers and cardboard on November 10.
