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Shinjuku

■Shinjuku

The New Capital

Shinjuku is, literally and figuratively, the heart of Japan’s capital city. In fact, since the 1991 relocation of the city government into the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices in West Shinjuku, some Tokyoites have taken to calling Shinjuku shin toshin, or new capital.

Shinjuku Station is the busiest rail station on the planet, with over two million commuters passing through even on a slow day and about sixty exits. Depending on where you tumble out of all this confusion, you will enter either West or East Shinjuku. They’re quite different.

In West Shinjuku, travelers will come face to face with the economic engine of Japan. Most of Tokyo’s skyscraper office buildings are located here, and the district accounts for a great deal of whatever interest the city’s skyline might have. Easily the most visually striking of these is the Metropolitan Government Offices complex itself. Japan’s greatest post-war architect, Kenzo Tange, claimed the Notre Dame cathedral as inspiration for the building, and it shows. It’s a beautiful structure, but its price tag of about $US 1 billion was a bit high for some Tokyoites, and to this day the building is called “Tax Tower” by many residents. Both of the building’s towers have free observation decks, and free tours in English are also available on weekdays. And the Tokyo Tourist Information Center on the first floor is probably a traveler’s best bet for Tokyo focused information.

On the boundary of West and East Shinjuku, look for a four block collection of tiny bars and eateries crowded into what looks almost like a shantytown. This is Shomben Yokocho, or Piss Alley. Despite the unappealing name, this is an area well worth a little exploration, both for its atmosphere and for the tantalizing possibility of finding a perfect bowl of ramen in one of the small shops.
East Shinjuku is a shopping hub and nightlife playground. Some of Tokyo’s best and oldest department stores are located here, including Mitsukoshi and Iseten among others. Beneath Yasukuni Street, the Shinjuku Subnade is a large underground shopping complex with entrances from street level. The gleaming Takashimaya “Times Square” shopping center houses 15 floors of shops and restaurants, including a huge Kinokuniya Bookstore with a large foreign language section, invaluable if you run out of reading material during your trip. It also contains the Shinjuku Joypolis, a Sega-produced attraction which claims to be the world’s first virtual amusement park.

On the other side of Yasukuni Street, you enter Kabukicho, an incredibly busy nightlife district named for a planned but never-built Kabuki theater. Wander a few blocks north into Kabukicho and you’re in one of Tokyo’s seediest red-light districts. However, like most such places in Japan, there are still a lot of interesting small bars and restaurants even here. Kabukicho also contains the surprisingly appealing Hanazono Shrine, a vermilion and white granite building founded in the 17th century. Nearby, Golden Gai is a rough and tumble collection of alleys lined with tiny bars that is interesting to walk through but notoriously unwelcoming to all but regular customers.

Shinjuku’s most popular sightseeing attraction, however, is a garden. Shinjuku Gyoen, one of the largest (150 acres) and loveliest gardens in Tokyo, occupies the former grounds of the residence of Lord Naito, an Edo period daimyo. After the Meiji Restoration, the Imperial Household Agency took over the land, and by 1906 had created a wonderful garden combining traditional Japanese, French and English design for the use of the Imperial family. After the war, the garden was opened to the public, and today it is a wonderful oasis from the nearby skyscrapers and drinking districts, and one of the most popular spots in the city for cherry blossom viewing.
Finally, Shinjuku is also home to Shinjuku Nichome, which is the center of Tokyo’s gay scene. For visitors who are interested, this area comes alive at night with bars, restaurants, cafes and more catering to Tokyo’s gay community, many focusing on a particular niche or interest. It’s said that Nichome, though fairly small, has more gay clubs and bars per square block than anywhere else in the world.

-Matt Mangham

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