Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku Station [Tokyo]

【Shinjuku Station summary】

Shinjuku (Shinjyuku) Station opened in 1885 (Meiji 1885), when the current Yamanote Line opened. With an average of approximately 3.5 million passengers per day (as of 2017), it is recognized by Guinness World Records as the station with the highest number of passengers in the world. Incidentally, in the ranking of the world’s stations with the highest number of passengers, 17 of the TOP 20 are in Japan: Shinjuku Station, Shibuya Station, Ikebukuro Station… and two in India and one in France. Every day there is expansion work going on somewhere, so much so that it is called the Sagrada Familia of Japan, a station that will never be completed. It is said that the station is scheduled to be completed in 2047, but it is expected that a new extension will be built by then.

Image: Photo AC

You can’t imagine it as far as the outside can see, but there is a vast underground space, so vast that there is a game “Shinjuku Dungeon,” and if you include daily expansions and staff corridors, there are probably only a few people in the world who understand the full extent of it.

Image: Photo AC

This time I headed from Shinjuku Station to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. I walked while looking at the Shinjuku buildings on the way, but it was quite quiet. Personally, I recommend tourists to walk from Shinjuku Station rather than transferring to the Oedo Line.

【Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building summary】

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, a 10-minute walk from Shinjuku Station, was completed in 1990 and is approximately 243 meters high, designed to resemble the larger Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Since Tokyo is the de facto capital of Japan and the center of the country’s judicial, legislative, and administrative branches of government, it generates enormous tax revenues. The building was criticized for its excessive taxation at the time, but today it is one of Tokyo’s most popular tourist attractions.

Image: Photo AC

The observation deck is located on the 45th floor (202m above ground) and can be reached by a direct elevator. The main deck of the Tokyo Tower is 150 meters high and the top deck is 250 meters high, so it is about halfway up the tower.

Tokyo Tower, TowerDaijingu Shrine [Tokyo]

Since it is not a radio tower, the space is made wide and there is a café. It is a good place to take a break while sightseeing.

At night, they have a projection mapping program that cost 1.65 billion yen, but I wonder how many people go out of their way to see it at night?

【Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Nearby attractions】

Shinjuku Twelve Kumano Shrine, Shinjuku Tenmangu Naruko Tenjinja Shrine, Meiji Jingu Shrine, Shinjuku Gyoen

Meiji Jingu Shrine [Tokyo]

Shinjuku Gyoen [Tokyo]

【Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Access】

関連投稿(Related Posts):

Shinjuku Gyoen [Tokyo] Tokyo Tower, TowerDaijingu Shrine [Tokyo] Hatomori Hachiman Shrine [Tokyo] Tokyo SkyTree [Tokyo]