Continuing with our series of photos captured from Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building’s observation deck … Part 1 is here.
Enjoy Vangelis’ Blade Runner Love Theme while perusing these photos. Dim your ambient lights and click on the image to enjoy a full-size, zoom-able version.
Designed by Kenzo Tange and completed in 1991, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building located in Shinjuku 新宿 is a landmark of late-modernist architecture and civic ambition. Comprising two soaring towers connected by a central podium, the complex was conceived as a “vertical city” symbolizing Tokyo’s administrative center. Its façade of granite and glass reflects both technological precision and monumental dignity, while geometric motifs echo Gothic cathedrals—translating tradition into modern form.
From the 45th floor of the North Tower, we can see the telecommunication equipment at the top of the South Tower.
North-East view: Nishi-Shinjuku 西新宿 is Tokyo’s first skyscraper area, west of Shinjuku station, purpose-built in the 1970’s to relieve congestion in the city center. Including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, it is a district where government, finance, hospitality, and education converge.
From left to right, Shinjuku Sumitomo Building (far left, partial); Shinjuku Mitsui Building; Sompo Japan Building (center back with slanted base); Shinjuku Center Building (center front, 1979); Mode Gakuen Tower (cocoon-shaped, mesh façade); and Keio Plaza Hotel (right, partial). In the top right hand corner, the distant silhouette of Tokyo Skytree in Sumida ward glows faintly, anchoring the eastern skyline and offering a sense of Tokyo’s scale.
Doesn’t these cityscape images evoke the vibes of the original Blade Runner movie ?
Google Earth aerial view with horizon :
The Mode Gakuen Tower, with its futuristic cocoon shape and mesh façade, embodies Shinjuku’s educational and creative spirit. It reminds us of The Gherkin in London and Torre Agbar in Barcelona.
Classic high-rises like the Shinjuku Sumitomo Building and Shinjuku Mitsui Building, both 1970s icons, anchor the area alongside the twin towers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
Top down view of the Shinjuku Sumitomo Building, completed in 1974, standing 210 meters tall with 52 floors and a triangular footprint. Its sleek glass and steel canopy offers a covered yet open atrium space — a hallmark of 1970’s Japanese urbanism that integrates private towers with public plazas.
Google Maps aerial view :
Shinjuku Sumitomo Building was once among the tallest in Japan, it remains a key landmark in the Nishi-Shinjuku skyline.
North-West view.
The illuminated trees of Shinjuku Chuo Park (新宿中央公園) anchors the foreground, while beyond it, the lights of Nakano (中野区) stretch into the distance. Unlike the commercial density of Shinjuku, towers give way to low- and mid-rise blocks, narrow streets, and residential enclaves of Tokyo’s western suburbs.
Shinjuku Chuo Park is a pocket of nature amid the skyscraper district. It’s a popular spot for office workers and residents, featuring walking paths, small shrines, and seasonal illumination events.
Google Earth aerial view :
From left to right, the high-rise buildings are:
– City Tower Shinjuku Shintoshin (partially clipped on the left) – Central Park Tower La Tour Building (center)
and Shinjuku Green Tower Building (right).
After sunset, the twin towers transform into a canvas for spectacular 15-minute projection mapping displays, shown twice an hour throughout the evening. It is a popular tourist attraction.
We found a central spot in the Citizen’s Plaza and filmed this lying down on the ground. The show is free. For more information on the nightly show, click here. On weekend nights, their shows include clips of Godzilla attacking Tokyo. On weekdays, they show less dramatic footages like “Pac-Man eats Tokyo”. In February 2024, the building was recognized by the Guinness World Records for having the world’s largest projection mapping display.
This Google Maps aerial view, oriented east-northeast, shows the twin towers at the center. The districts and buildings highlighted earlier lie toward the left half of the frame below.
Kenzo Tange (1913-2005), the architect who built the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1987 not for a single project, but in recognition of his lifelong body of work and his pioneering role in shaping modern architecture in postwar Japan.
Several key works were highlighted as exemplars of his vision: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (1949–1955) – a profound symbol of renewal and reconciliation; Kagawa Prefectural Government Office (1958) – modern concrete structure integrating Japanese spatial concepts; Yoyogi National Gymnasium (1964) – built for the Tokyo Olympics, renowned for its sweeping suspended roof and structural innovation; and this masterpiece – Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (1991) representing his mature synthesis of monumental civic architecture and urban order.
If you ask us, skip the Skytree: this is your free ticket to Tokyo’s best night views.
Just in case you missed it, Part 1 is here.
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