Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
199
adults, ¥1,000 for high-school and university students, and ¥500 for children, so you
might as well take in the museum. For an additional ¥300, you can head to the rooftop
Sky Deck, the highest open-air observation deck in Japan, where you have unobstructed
views over the metropolis. Tokyo City View is open Sunday to Thursday from 10am to
11pm and Friday and Saturday from 10am to 1am. The Sky Deck is open daily from
10am to 8pm (closed during inclement weather).
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office (TMG)
Tokyo's city
hall—designed by one of Japan's best-known architects, Kenzo Tange—is an impressive
addition to the skyscrapers of west Shinjuku. The complex comprises three buildings—
TMG no. 1, TMG no. 2, and the Metropolitan Assembly Building—and together they
contain everything from Tokyo's Disaster Prevention Center to the governor's office.
Most important for visitors is TMG no. 1, the tall building to the north that offers the
best free view of Tokyo. This 48-story, 240m (787-ft.) structure, the tallest building in
Shinjuku, boasts two observatories located on the 45th floors of both its north and south
towers, with access from the first floor. Both observatories offer the same spectacular
views—on clear winter days, you can even see Mount Fuji—as well as a small souvenir
shop and coffee shop (the North Tower also has a Hakuhinkan Toy Park, with fun sou-
venirs, but a large restaurant annoyingly takes up the entire east side of the observatory).
In expensive Tokyo, this is one of the city's best bargains, and kids love it. On the first
floor is a Tokyo Tourist Information Center, open daily 10am to 6:30pm.
2-8-1 Nishi-Shinjuku.
&
03/5321-1111.
Free admission. Daily 9:30am-10:30pm. Closed Dec 29-Jan 3.
Station: Tochomae (1 min.), Shinjuku (10 min.), or Nishi-Shinjuku (5 min.).
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Tokyo Tower
Japan's most famous observation tower was built in 1958
and was modeled after the slightly smaller Eiffel Tower in Paris. Lit up at night, this
330m (1,083-ft.) tower, a relay station for TV and radio stations, is a familiar and
beloved landmark in the city's landscape; but with the construction of skyscrapers over
the past few decades (including the TMG, above, with its free observatory), it has lost
some of its appeal as an observation platform and seems more like a relic from the 1950s.
With its tacky souvenir shops and assorted small-time attractions, this place is about as
kitsch as kitsch can be.
The tower has two observatories: the main one at 149m (489 ft.) and the top observa-
tory at 248m (814 ft.). The best time of year for viewing is said to be during Golden
Week at the beginning of May. With many Tokyoites gone from the city and most fac-
tories and businesses closed down, the air at this time is thought to be the cleanest and
clearest. There are several offbeat tourist attractions in the tower's base building, includ-
ing a wax museum (where you can see the Beatles, a wax rendition of Leonardo's
Last
Supper,
Hollywood stars, and a medieval torture chamber), a small aquarium, a museum
of holography, a Guinness World Records Museum, and a trick art gallery, all with sepa-
rate admission fees and appealing mainly to children.
4-2 Shiba Koen, Minato-ku.
&
03/3433-5111.
www.tokyotower.co.jp. Admission to both observatories
¥1,420 adults, ¥860 children. Daily 9am-10pm. Station: Onarimon or Kamiyacho (6 min.).
7
ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS
Attractions listed earlier that are good for children include the Edo-Tokyo Museum
(p. 173), Drum Museum (p. 192), Fukagawa Edo Museum (closed for renovation until
August 2010; p. 193), Ghibli Museum (p. 194), Megaweb (p. 195), National Museum
