Pedestrian Paradises in Tokyo

One of the good things about living in Tokyo is the closure to car traffic of major shopping streets on Sunday afternoons. As far as I know, the Ginza and Shinjuku streets close to traffic, becoming what are called 'hokohsha-tengoku' - literally pedestrian paradises. Street performers tend to dominate in Shinjuku, while the Ginza retains its air of gentility. I have posted about 'Giburart', a tactical interventionist exhibition held on the pedestrian paradises of the Ginza in 1993 - see here. It struck me wandering along the car-free Shinjuku this afternoon how wide roads are - one could play soccer or tennis on them, or organise meandering markets. For a limited time at least, two of Tokyo's main commercial streets become spaces which can be used differently. For a good list of car-free cities see this entry in Wikipedia.