Shinjuku is home of the tallest office buildings in Tokyo, most of which are located in the famous Western side of the Shinjuku district. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is located in the twin towers and the top floor houses the observation decks open to public access, yes for FREE.
First the details
Address : Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No.1, 2-8-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Admission : 0 yen! Free of Charge
Open : South Observation Deck: 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. North Observation Deck: 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Closed : South Observation Deck : 1st and 3rd Tuesday North Observation Deck : 2nd and 4th Monday
If these days are national holidays then the next day.
Access : The observatory is accessible on foot from Shinjuku Station (12-15 minute walk) and we prefer the Tochomae Station on the Toei Oedo Line from where it is a 2 minute walk to the observatory.
If you decide to take a walk from the South Exit of Shinjuku Station instead of Tochomae Station as we suggest, just walk straight towards the skyscrapers in the distance as seen in the above snap. Accessing the 45 floor observatory you can choose the South or the North observatory and you will have to pass a security clearance before you get into the elevator.
THE PRIMARY ATTRACTION : As with other observatories, you can see many landmarks of the Tokyo City, but our favourite is the Mount Fuji in the distance which can be seen on a particularly clear day. Gets pretty crowded near this view point.
View of the Mount Fuji from the South Observation Deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. The 202 meter South Observation Deck is the one with the better view out of the two observatories. Located on the 45th floor of Main Building No. 1, the South Observation Deck unfortunately closes earlier in the evening but that is still good to catch the twilight time in winters. You can also see the Tokyo Skytree in the distance and Tokyo Tower from this location. If you do a panoramic snap you can get both the towers in one photograph too.
You can see major landmarks of Tokyo from this observatory prominently the below ones
Mount Fuji (On a clear day only)
Tokyo Tower and Tokyo SkyTree
Yoyogi park (with Meiji shrine)
NTT Docomo Tower in Shinjuku
Docomo Tower in the center and Yoyogi Garden in the left hand side as seen from the South Observation Deck
The North Observation Deck, which is open until 10:30 p.m. has a cafe which is good to enjoy coffee, drinks at night. There is also a Tourist Information Center on the Level One of the building and you can pick up needful brochures, maps there or get guidance for any inquiries you may have.
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