Roppongi- Roppongi Hills, Mori Tower, Mori Garden, Tokyo Midtown, Hard Rock Café, Tokyo Tower
Roppongi is a district, part of the Minato ward where many westeners live. It literally means ”six trees”. The area is know for its many nightclubs, concerts, restaurants, bars and other forms of entertainment. The centerpiece of the Roppongi district is since 2003 the 238m high Mori Tower, standing on a hill. It is one of the world’s largest buildings by floor space, has 54 floors and features a 6-storey shopping galleria as well as the Mori Arts Center, a museum on the top floors of the building (with a circular atrium reminding of the dome of the Reichstag in Berlin) and an outdoor observation deck. Roppongi is one of the few hilly districts of Tokyo, especially Roppongi Hills. The Roppongi intersection is famous, featuring a highway bridge with a text ”Roppongi” crossing. Almond Café is a popular meeting place. At night it comes alive with neon lights and clubs . One of two Hard Rock Cafés in Tokyo is in Roppongi, and the Snoopy Museum. Next to Mori Tower is lots of expensive brand stores, and the Grand Hyatt hotel. Opposite the tower is a popular spider sculpture. In the slopy Roppongi Hills there is a quiet residential area with mainly small scale townhouses and a few residential highrises, reminding a bit of San Francisco. Midtown Tokyo is a complex built in 2007, in Akasaka near Roppongi, that includes the 2nd tallest skyscraper in Tokyo (248m), that also features a mall, sculptures, a garden, a Ritz-Carlton hotel, offices, restaurants and more. Sumitomo Roppongi Grand Tower (230m) from 2016 and Izumi Garden Tower (200m) are both skyscrapers with green glass exteriors. Ark Hills Sengokuyana Mori Tower is a futuristic skyscraper from 2012.
ROPPONGI HILLS:
MIDTOWN TOKYO:ROPPONGI BY NIGHT: |