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GINZA Q&A

What are “Ginza rules?”

　Ginza has its own area rules.
The first set of Ginza rules is about district planning. These are rules about buildings in Ginza that were decided in 1998 in discussions between the people of Ginza and Chuo City.
　Ginza has three types of streets: major streets like Ginza-dori St., Harumi-dori St., Nishiginza-dori St., and Showa-dori St., streets with a sidewalk like Namiki-dori St. and Miyuki-dori St., and streets without a sidewalk like Komparu-dori St. and Gas-to-dori St. Rules have been set for values such as height and floor area ratio of the buildings along the streets for different widths of each type of street. Height exceptions are made for the buildings east of Showa-dori St. that help maintain or develop culture.
　The second set is the Ginza design rules. It is not the case that you can build any design of building or release any kind of advertising as long as it meets the values stipulated in district plans and building standard or other laws. They must create distinctive Ginzaesque scenery. In Ginza, when making buildings with a lot area of 100 m2 or more (individual development, large-scale development) or a structure requiring a confirmation application, the Chuo City Urban Development Project Guidelines state that you must obtain consent from the Ginza Design Council before submitting your confirmation application. In addition to this requirement, the Ginza Design Council also holds discussions on at least 300 cases a year concerning the Ginza scenery. There are no word- or numerical value-based criteria followed when reaching an agreement. Rather, discussion with the project organizer focuses on whether the project is “Ginzaesque” or matches Ginza’s style, deepening mutual understanding.
　The third set of rules is the parking area rules for Ginza. Ginza has many small plots, and setting parking areas using uniform standards based on metropolitan ordinances would result in a large part of the street being blocked by the entrance. For this reason, buildings with a lot area of 500 m2 or more or total floor area of 6,000 m2 or more are required to secure a consolidated parking lot while smaller buildings can choose whether to set the mandatory parking area on their own plot or secure spaces in a consolidated parking lot (remote parking lot). With a 2023 revision, parking areas for people with disabilities and parking areas for cargo handling can now also be on a remote plot. Businesses must pay cooperation expenses for the difference between the number of parking spots calculated according to metropolitan ordinances and the number of spots calculated based on local rules (the number reduced) or the number of spots on a remote plot. Cooperation expenses received are used in activities to help improve the traffic environment in Ginza.
　The fourth rule is the Ginza-wide Waste Disposal Rule. People in Ginza are asked to put garbage bags in lidded trash cans to take out. Strict compliance with this rule is not only effective for beautifying the streets and preventing crime, fire, and disasters, but also to keep rats and other pests away.

(GINZA Machidukuri Council)