Toshima Incineration Plant, Waste incineration plant in Kami-Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan
The Toshima Incineration Plant is an 11-story building with a 210-meter chimney that processes about 400 tons of daily waste from Tokyo's urban districts. The facility converts combustion heat into electricity and supplies hot water to the neighboring Toshima Health Plaza.
Construction was approved in 1991, and the building replaced the former Ikebukuro Mammoth Pool. Operations began in June 1999.
The chimney inspired the tower depicted in Makoto Shinkai's animated film 'The Place Promised in Our Early Days'. The structure became part of Japanese popular culture through this cinematic reference.
The building is easily visible from outside, with the chimney recognizable from many points across the city. Note that interior access is typically not open to the public, but the exterior facade and distinctive chimney can be photographed from surrounding streets.
Environmental activists from Greenpeace scaled the facility's walls in May 2000 to protest dioxin emissions from waste incineration. The incident made the site a focal point for environmental debates in Japan.
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