Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Hibiya Park
the transparent apex of the
building, above cantilevered
areas and atrias, is like walking
across a crystal space above the
city.
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Map M3 • 3-5-1 Marunouchi,
Chiyoda-ku • 5221-9000 • www.t-i-forum.
co.jp/english
Built over a former military
parade ground converted from
the estates of shogun Ieyasu's
less-favored Outer Lords, Hibiya
Park was rebuilt as Japan's first
Western-style park in 1903.
European features, such as
bandstands, a rose garden,
an open-air theater, and a
bronze heron fountain over-
looked by a wisteria trellis,
are set against a small but
exquisite Japanese garden,
rock placements, and cherry
trees lining parts of seclu-
ded paths at the center of
the park.
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Map L4 • Hibiya
koen, 1-6 Chiyoda-ku • 3501-6428
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Shiodome and
Caretta Shiodome
A futuristic mini-city, the
bayside Shiodome features
a grove of skyscrapers, not-
ably Shiodome Media Tower
and the highly regarded
Conrad Tokyo hotel, as well
as an Italian-style outdoor
piazza, cafés, restaurants,
and cocktail bars. The 51-
story Caretta Shiodome
houses more than 60
shops, restaurants, and
cafés linked by under-
ground concourses to
other shopping venues.
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Map M5 • 1-8-2 Higashi-Shimbashi,
Minato-ku • 6218-2100
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Tokyo International
Forum
One of the city's
architectural wonders,
this majestic building
was designed by Rafael Vinoly
in 1996. It functions as a premier
culture convention center, with
four graduated cubes encased
in granite, abutting a high,
tapering trajectory of glass and
steel, aptly named the “Glass
Hall.” Crossing the skywalks
among the glass and girders at
Caretta Shiodome
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ADMT Advertising
Museum
Sponsored by advertising giant
Dentsu, this outstanding museum
traces the history of Japanese
advertising. Exhibits run from
colored woodblock prints to the
latest TV commercials. The
museum library, Japan's only
archive exclusively dedicated to
Taisho Chic
Popular culture thrived along
Ginza during the Taisho period
(1912-26), as a more liberal mood
blew through the city. The age saw
the appearance of the “Modern
Girl,” a product of European
fashions, the American Jazz Age,
and the film divas. In their Eton
crops and bobbed hair, these girls
typified the confidence and style
of a new age that challenged
traditional Japanese values.
The ultra-modern Tokyo International Forum
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A colorful chrysanthemum festival is held at the rear of the
Hibiya Park during late October through November.
