Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BEST OF SHINJUKU AND THE WEST
Shinjuku Station
Take in the mind-boggling madness at rush hour (see box opposite)
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
Catch a spectacular sunset from the observations
decks (see opposite)
Omoide Yokochō
Grab a pre-drink bite in crowded “Piss Alley” (see p.122)
Golden Gai
Head for this cluster of minuscule bars (see p.172)
Kabukichō
Sneak a peek at the red lights and
yakuza
(see p.124)
Shinjuku Gyoen
Escape the area's neon insanity in this beautifully landscaped garden (see p.124)
Animation Museums
Get a handle on anime culture (see p.125)
Robot Restaurant
Go goggle-eyed over a jaw-dropping performance (see p.182)
Shinjuku Nichōme
See Japanese gay culture in full swing (see p.177)
designed by Tange Kenzō. The complex includes twin 48-storey towers, an adjacent
tower block, the Metropolitan Assembly Hall (where the city's councillors meet) and
a sweeping, statue-lined and colonnaded plaza. Kenzō's inspiration was Paris's Notre
Dame, and there's certainly something of that cathedral's design in the shape of the
twin towers. But the building is also unmistakeably Japanese, with the dense crisscross
pattern of its glass and granite facade reminiscent of both traditional architecture and
the circuitry of an enormous computer chip.
On the ground floor of the north tower you'll find the excellent Tokyo Tourist
Information Centre (see p.38); free
tours
of the complex depart from here. Both the
towers have
observation rooms
; the southern one is quieter, more open and has a
pleasant café, while the northern one is usually open later, and features a shopping
area and overpriced restaurant. It's worth timing your visit for dusk, so you can see
Shinjuku's multicoloured lights spark into action.
11
Shinjuku Park Tower
৽॓ύʔΫλϫʔ
• 3-7-1 Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku • Tochōmae or Hatsudai stations; free shuttle bus from opposite Odakyū
department store to south side of tower
On the south side of Shinjuku Chūō-kōen, a dusty park, lies
Shinjuku Park Tower
,
another building that bears Kenzō's confident modernist signature. Comprising three
linked towers, all topped with glass pyramids, the style credentials of this complex are
vouched for by the presence of the luxurious
Park Hyatt Hotel
, which occupies the
building's loftiest floors (see p.139), and a Conran Shop.
ICC
Πϯλʔίϛϡχέʔγϣϯηϯλʔ
• 3-20-2 Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku • Tues-Sun 11am-6pm • Free although usually ¥500 for
special exhibitions •
T
03 5353 0900,
W
www.ntticc.or.jp; Opera City
W
operacity.jp • Hatsudai station
A ten-minute walk west of the Shinjuku Park Tower is
Tokyo Opera City
(
౦ژΦϖϥγςΟ
)
with 54 floors of of
ces, shops, restaurants and a major concert hall (see p.183). On the
fourth floor you'll find the invariably fascinating
NTT Intercommunication Centre
(better
known as the ICC), an innovative interactive exhibition space that seeks to encourage
a dialogue between technology and the arts: past displays of hi-tech art have included
a soundproof room where you listen to your own heartbeat, and light-sensitive robots
you can control with your brain waves. The free regular exhibitions change annually;
the special exhibitions usually rotate monthly. On your way up, check out the Antony
Gormley-designed statue, standing alone on the second floor.
Sword Museum
തؗ
, Tōken Hakubutsukan • 2F 4-25-10 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku • Tues-Sun 10am-4.30pm • ¥600 •
T
03 3379 1386,
W
touken.or.jp •
Hatsudai station
In the backstreets east of Hatsudai Station is the small
Sword Museum
. Fans of
swashbuckling samurai dramas will love this place, and even if you're determinedly
