This article is based on a visit made on Wednesday, 2 April 2014.
Edit 2 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.
There are many places in Tokyo where one can climb up to view the city skyline. Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Skytree, and the Mori Tower at Roppongi Hills are some of the more famous. But they are somewhat expensive; the examples I just listed cost ¥1,500 (US$15) or more for entry, with the upper decks costing a little extra on top of that. But Tokyo has its share of free observatories as well. The
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku is one, and the Bunkyo Civic Centre (文京シビックセンター,
Bunkyō Shibikku Centā) is another.
The building was completed in 1994, reaches 146 metres (479 feet) tall, and has been described as a "colossal Pez dispenser" in the press. [1] Much of the building is used by offices for the Bunkyo ward government, and the base of the building also houses a pair of concert halls. The 25th floor is taken up by an observation deck, standing 100 meters above ground and boasting a 330-degree view of Tokyo.
The windows are tilted inward. This is supposed to cut down on reflections from the lights inside the building. This, obviously, doesn't apply to the windows looking inside the building.
The Tokyo Skytree is clearly visible among the low-rise buildings to the east. Perhaps hitching a ride on that blimp up there would afford an even better view, given the haze that morning.
The 330-degree viewing angle excludes views to the direct south, which unfortunately account for some of Tokyo's more interesting cityscapes, like Tokyo Tower, Roppongi, and the Imperial Palace. But it is enough to afford a view of the Tokyo Dome City amusement park, which I will cover later on below.
To the northwest is
Ikebukuro, one of Tokyo's many urban centres. The train station is the second-busiest in the world, behind nearby Shinjuku Station. The tallest building in this shot is Sunshine 60, part of the Sunshine City complex. It opened in 1978 and, at 240 metres (787 feet) tall, was the tallest building in Asia at the time.
And this is
Shinjuku, to the west. Of the buildings in the back, the one with two side-by-side columns is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, and the curved one is the Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower. Mount Fuji is about 95 kilometres (60 miles) behind Shinjuku, and would make for a terribly interesting composition, but alas I was unable to see it in the morning haze. And I apologise for my camera's poor picture quality when zoomed in like this.
One view not obstructed by the haze is of these gardens below. This is Rekisen Park (礫川公園, Rekisen Kōen, lit. 'stone river park'), a small park directly to the west of the civic centre. The Marunouchi metro line can be seen poking above ground to the left.
Afterwards, I made my way to Suidobashi Station by cutting through the Tokyo Dome City, the area surrounding the Tokyo Dome baseball stadium.
Tokyo Dome is the home stadium of the
Yomiuri Giants, one of the most famous baseball teams in Japan. They are owned by and named after the Yomiuri Group (major-league sports teams in Japan are named after their parent company instead of their location), which also owns the
Yomiuri Shimbun (Japanese) and
Japan News (English) newspapers and the
Nippon Television (日本テレビ,
Nippon Terebi) network. The Japan Baseball Hall of Fame is also found on the premises.
Plenty of Giants merchandise for sale, including some cute plush mascots. Much of it is in the team colours of black and orange. In fact, those colours, and their "YG" logo, were inspired by the
San Francisco Giants of America's MLB. If you're not a fan, you may want to cheer for their rivals, the
Hanshin Tigers of Kansai. But with merch this cute, why would you want to?
In addition to the stadium itself, attractions in the Tokyo Dome City include a hotel, the spa complex LaQua, and an amusement park.
The Thunder Dolphin roller coaster is one of the park's flagship rides. Despite lacking any inversions, it runs at a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph), and a G-force of 4.4. It passes through a hole in the LaQua building, and even through the middle of the
Big O, the world's largest centreless Ferris wheel at 60m (200 ft.) in diameter.
Tokyo Dome City also hosts Hero Action stage stunt shows starring the latest cast of
Super Sentai, the TV series which forms the basis for
Power Rangers in the US. The one from 2014,
Ressha Sentai ToQger, was based around trains. (As of this post, it will not be adapted for
Power Rangers.) Knowing how much trains form a part of everyday life for the Japanese, I'm surprised it took
Super Sentai almost 40 years to get to it.
Bunkyo Civic Centre
Hours: Open from 9:00 AM to 8:30 PM. Closed on the 3rd Sunday in May, and from 29 December to 3 January.
Costs: Free.
Address: 1-16-22 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 〒112-8555
Access: Directly adjacent to Korakuen (Tokyo Metro Marunouchi
(M) and Namboku
(N) lines) and Kasuga (Toei Mita
(I) and Oedo
(E) lines) stations. From Tokyo Station, take the Marunouchi subway line to Korakuen (M22, 8 minutes, ¥170). From Shinjuku, walk to the nearby Shinjuku Nishi-guchi station, and take the Oedo subway line to Kasuga (E07, 13 minutes, ¥220).
Website:
(Japanese)
Tokyo Dome City
Hours: Open from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Admission ends 45 minutes before closing time. No regular closing days.
Costs: Attractions cost ¥450-1,200 each. A 1-Day Pass allowing use of unlimited attractions for the day costs ¥4,200 (¥3,200 after 5:00 PM). Alternatively, a "Ride 5" pass allowing use of any five attractions costs ¥2,800.
Address: 1-3-61 Koraku, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 〒112-0004
Access: Directly adjacent to Suidobashi Station (JR Chuo-Sobu
(JB), and Toei Mita lines). Also within 10 minutes on foot from Korakuen and Kasuga Stations; see above. From Tokyo Station, take the Marunouchi subway line to Korakuen, as above. From Shinjuku, take the Chuo-Sobu (Local) line to Suidobashi (JB17, 15 minutes, ¥170, JR Pass OK).
Website:
(English) (Japanese)
