Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BEST OF GINZA
Kabukiza Theatre
Catch a traditional play (see p.52)
Bridgestone Museum of Art
Hang out with Picasso, van Gogh, Matisse and company (see p.53)
Hibiki
Get a cheap, filling lunch on the 46th floor (see p.146)
The Oyster Shack
Slurp down some molluscs beneath the train tracks (see p.147)
Old Imperial Bar
Enjoy a “Mount Fuji” cocktail (see p.168)
Tamiya Plamodel Factory
Relive your childhood (see p.198)
2
Immediately east of the palace lie the
Marunouchi
and
Yūrakuchō
districts, home to
theatres, airline o
ces, banks and corporate headquarters, as well as the dramatic
modern architecture of the multipurpose
Tokyo International Forum
. Marunouchi,
the more interesting of the two, is enjoying a stylish reinvention with the opening
of several new shopping and restaurant complexes, and the recent redevelopment of
Tokyo Station
and its environs. Head south and you'll soon be in the
Hibiya district
,
highlight of which is its Western-style
park
, a refreshing oasis of greenery.
Snaking above ground to the east of these areas is Tokyo's most important rail line,
with some tracks designed to bear the famed Shinkansen bullet trains - you'll see
these gleaming, high-speed beasts purring past every few minutes. There are some
wonderfully atmospheric places to eat and drink lurking under the railway arches,
but for the next batch of sights press on east, then south, to
Shiodome
, where a clutch
of sparkling skyscrapers harbour hotels, restaurants and a few bona fide tourist sights,
the best of which is
ADMT
, a museum dedicated to advertising.
North of Shiodome is
Ginza
itself. Bar the revamped Kabukiza theatre, there are no
must-see sights here, but it's a compact area worth exploring, especially since even the
most anonymous building can yield a speciality store or avant-garde gallery. North
again is the high-finance district of
Nihombashi
, once the heart of boisterous, low-town
Edo but now the preserve of blue-suited bankers. Here you'll find the original
Mitsukoshi
department store and a couple of fine art museums: the
Mitsui Memorial
Museum
and the
Bridgestone Museum of Art
.
Marunouchi
ؙͷ
Immediately north and west of the International Forum, the business-focused
Marunouchi
district has been broadening its appeal with a raft of sleek, multistorey
developments combining of
ces, hotels, shopping plazas and all manner of restaurants
and cafés (see p.146 & p.160). Completed in 2002, the 36-storey
Marunouchi Building
,
affectionately known as the “Maru Biru”, was first off the blocks, followed by the
Oazo
complex, home to Maruzen's flagship bookstore, and the
Shin-Marunouchi Building
,
with a seventh-floor upscale dining and drinking area (see p.168), and an outdoor
terrace that offers terrific views. Then there's
Tokyo Station
itself, whose newly
renovated red-brick entrance dates to the station's 1914 opening, and was inspired by
the design of Amsterdam's Centraal Station.
Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum
, meanwhile,
fronts Marunouchi Brick Square, where shops and restaurants overlook a lovely
landscaped garden.
Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum
ࡾඛҰ߸ؗඒज़ؗ
, Mitsubishi Ichigokān Bijutsukan • 2-6-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku • Daily 10am-6pm, Fri till 8pm • Price depends
on exhibition •
T
03 5405 8686,
W
mimt.jp • Tokyo or Nijūbashimae stations
A relatively new addition to the area is the
Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum
, which focuses
on nineteenth-century European art. It's housed in a meticulous reconstruction of a
red-brick o
ce block by British architect Josiah Conder (see box, p.58); the original
was erected on the same site in 1894, only to be demolished in 1968.