Must see attractions in Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo

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Golden Gai – a Shinjuku institution for over half a century – is a collection of tiny bars, often literally no bigger than a closet and seating maybe a…

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Tokyo's city hall – a landmark building designed by Tange Kenzō – has observatories (202m) atop both the south and north towers of Building 1 (the views…

Shinjuku-gyoen was designed as an imperial retreat (completed 1906); since opening to the public in 1951, it has become a favourite destination for…

Godzilla, a portmanteau of the Japanese words for gorilla (gorira) and whale (kujira), is king of the kaijū (strange beasts) that ruled Japanese popular…

Lucky are the girls who attended the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed 'School of the Free Spirit' (Jiyū Gakuen; 自由学園). Built in 1921, Myōnichikan functioned as…

Kusama Yayoi (b 1929) is one of Japan's most internationally famous contemporary artists, particularly known for her obsession with dots and pumpkins. She…

The ICC shows challenging, conceptual works that explore the intersection between art and technology – sometimes including participatory VR installations…

This otherwise ordinary office complex is home to more than a dozen public artworks, including one of Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculptures (on the southeast…

Rising nearly 40m high and glistening in the sun, this stainless-steel contemporary cathedral was completed in 1955. It's the work of Japan's foremost…

Japan's most celebrated manga artist Tezuka Osamu lived most of his life in Takadanobaba and the neighbourhood couldn't be prouder. In front of the…

This public safety centre has a room that simulates a real earthquake and it's not for the faint of heart (literally): what you experience is a level…

Merchants from nearby Kabukichō come to this Shintō shrine to pray for the solvency of their business ventures. Founded in the 17th century, the shrine is…

This strolling garden was once the estate of a Meiji-era statesman and is now the grounds of a luxury hotel, though it's open to the public. The shaded…

On the outskirts of Ikebukuro and opened in 1875, Zōshigaya-reien is the final resting place of many influential writers and artists of the modern era …

Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery is at its best when it holds solo shows and retrospectives of major modern Japanese artists and movements (spanning diverse…

Run by four veteran artists (including pioneering street photographer Daido Moriyama), this gallery serves as a hub for the city's photography scene…

This Nishi-Shinjuku landmark building (completed in 2008) is a 50-storey webbed tower designed by Tange Associates. Easily identifiable among the blockier…