Tokyo skylines

(Several district from different angles)
- Skyline and views - TEXT UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

Tokyo is famous for its endless sea of skyscrapers, that started to rise in the 1960s after the old lowrise cityscape was destroyed in WWII and the 1920s earthquake, with lot more skyscrapers under construction in the 80s and 90s and 2000s. Due to height limits they are not as tall as in Shanghai or New York, and the designs are less spectacular, with more grey and boxy buildings. But it still is one of the most impressive collections of tall buildings in the world, and there are some really cool futuristic looking towers. The tallest buildings are just around 200m tall, to compare with skyscrapers over 500m in New York, over 600m in Shanghai and over 800m in Dubai. But there are 2 much taller structures, though not counted as buildings because they are towers: Tokyo Skytree, built in 2012 is not only the tallest structure in Japan, it is also the world’s tallest tower! It measures 634m tall to the top, looks very futuristic (especially at night with the blue light) and is situated a bit off from the city center, in Sumida ward. It is almost twice as tall as Tokyo’s second tallest structure, the much older, Eiffel Tower looking Tokyo Tower from 1958. Tokyo Tower is 333m tall, slightly tower then it's Paris sister. Both these towers have several observation decks. Tokyo has alarge number of observation decks with great skyline views; Tokyo Skytree (Sumida ward), Tokyo Tower, Metropolitan Government Bldg and Sumitomo Bldg (both in Nishi-Shinjuku and free), Tokyo City View in Mori Building (Roppongi), Bunkyo Civic Center (Bunkyo) just to mention a few.

The most classical skyline is Nishi-Shinjuku (West Shinjuku) that features some of the oldest skyscrapers (from the 60s and 70s) as well as newer, more futuristic ones. Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bldg (the twin towered, circuit board patterned city hall from 1991 with two observation decks), Park Tower (with 235m tallest in Shinjuku, famous from Lost in Translation), Tokyo Mode Gakuen Coccoon Tower (a building with round shapes) and Keio Plaza Hotel (when completed 1971 iwth 47 floors the first skyscraper in Japan, built) can all be found in Nishi-Shinjuku. Roppongi has Mori Tower (238m), one of the most wellknown skyscrapers of Tokyo with its observation deck, and the nearby Midtown Tokyo, both among Tokyo’s tallest buildings. East Shinjuku also has a few skyscrapers, but not as many as in West Shinjuku. Bunkyo ward has the Civic Center and other skyscrapers. In Sumida ward, along the river band of Sumida River, skyscrapers line up, one with a famous flame beacon, in front of the Skytree. Toranomon in Minato ward in the East is a business district with many skyscrapers, among them the Toranomon Hills skyscraper that is Tokyo’s currently tallest building to the roof height (256m). Marunochi, the district around Tokyo Station, and near Imperial Palace, is the old downtown of Tokyo. But this district is today also filled with skyscrapers, since it is both a financial district and a hotel district. Shibuya also has many tall buildings decorated with neon signs, and the famous clock tower of NTT DoCoMo Yoyogi Bldg (240m) as well as Ginza. Akihabara, the electronics district, is surrounded by skyscrapers, and Ryogoku in the East has a few near the Edo Museum. In Shinagawa there are many skyscrapers as well, surrounding the Shinagawa Station, among them the towers of Shinagawa Prince Hotel, where we stayed. Most of them have only around 30 floors. On Odaiba Island you find the famous Fuji TV highrise. From the island there are views of central Tokyo’s skyscrapers, and the tall suspension bridge Rainbow Bridge. The skyscrapers can also be seen from the parks, like Yoyogi Park and Shinjuku Gyoen. Unlike European cities, there are almost no tall religious buildings in Tokyo, since most of them are temples and the churches are few and not very tall. In the suburbs you find skyscrapers in Chiba, Kawasaki, Saitama and in the neighbouring city Yokohama. In the future, there are plans to build skyscrapers that are over 300m tall in Tokyo.