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Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observatories

A free panorama connecting Skytree, Gyoen and Park Tower with Tange’s civic complex, its plaza and Chuo Park.

Visit fitPeople who like to grasp a city’s structure before walking it · first-day orientation

Kenzo Tange's 243 m twin towers each hold a free 45th-floor observatory. After sunset the building's own east face becomes the screen for the world's largest permanent projection mapping.

Good to know

At the glass, read the gaps between Chuo Park and the towers first. On clear days the view reaches Tokyo Bay or Mt Fuji; early autumn and winter mornings are clearest.

The twin towers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building under a blue sky
TMG Main Building No.1’s twin towers (left) and No.2
Image infoKakidai · 2024-11 · CC-BY-SA-4.0 · resized and cropped

Give the panorama a direction

The free observatories sit on the 45th floor at 202 m above ground. Give each window a task: Skytree lies to the northeast; Shinjuku Gyoen and Meiji Jingu to the southeast; Shinjuku Park Tower and Tokyo Opera City to the southwest. Mount Fuji is to the west when visibility allows, with more clear sightings in the cold months of December–February. Finding Park Tower and Opera City also locates this guide’s hotel and ICC in the larger city. Window-panel QR codes open TOKYO SKY GUIDE, an app-free explanation of 32 landmarks.

WHERE · On foot from here

How far west of the station, and where

In the middle of the west-side towers. It connects directly to Tochomae Station on the Oedo Line, and is about a 10-minute walk from the West Exit of JR Shinjuku Station.

1234Shinjuku新宿駅About 10 min from West ExitTochomae都庁前駅Direct link · Oedo LineTokyo Metropolitan GovernmentBuilding Observatories東京都庁展望室Nishi-shinjuku西新宿駅Chuo ParkSankaku HirobaCocoon TowerPark Hyatt~5 min~10 min250 mN234Shinjuku新宿駅About 10 minfrom West ExitTochomae都庁前駅Direct link· Oedo LineTokyo Metropolitan GovernmentBuilding Observatories東京都庁展望室Nishi-shinjuku西新宿駅Sankaku HirobaCocoon TowerPark Hyatt~5 min~10 min250 mN
This placeAbout 5 · 10 min on foot from here (computed, approximate)Official guidanceRead together

Official guidance

Good to know

The observatory lift leaves from the 1st floor of Main Building No. 1; the 2nd-floor entrance is closed on weekends and holidays. TMG Bureau of Finance ↗

Read together

  1. 1Shinjuku Chuo Park
  2. 2Shinjuku Sumitomo Building / Sankaku Hiroba
  3. 3Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower
  4. 4Park Hyatt Tokyo

Walking bands are computed by FOW on the OpenStreetMap surface street network at 80 m/min and drawn as a smoothed approximate area around the streets reached. They ignore exit positions, station interiors, underground passages, signals, slopes and routes inside buildings — not directions; follow on-site signs.

Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Walking bands: computed by FOW · Station and gate notes: official guidance (2026-10-16)

A civic axis between plaza and park

Kenzo Tange’s government complex extends beyond the No.1 Building containing the observatories. The assembly and Citizens’ Plaza to the east, the tall government building and Chuo Park to the west form a civic axis. See the plaza at ground level before going up: the panorama then gives the open space and roads you crossed a place among the towers. The twin silhouette, completed in 1991, and the broad public spaces at its base belong to the same visit.

Going up, or staying for the façade

Use the dedicated observatory lift from floor 1 of the No.1 Building. On weekends and public holidays the floor-2 entrances close, so approach the floor-1 main entrance. Visitors who find stairs difficult can ask a guard about the internal lift. Follow the separate North/South closure and last-entry times below. Allow 30–45 minutes for the view as a planning estimate, with any queue added.

TOKYO Night & Light is projected onto the building’s east façade and watched from Citizens’ Plaza, with weather cancellations possible. If combining it with the panorama, use the dated screening schedule to choose when to come down to the plaza.

Read it with

The Shinjuku Chuo Park sign in front of its artificial waterfall
Shinjuku Chuo ParkRe-read the towers you saw from above at park level.
A wide indoor plaza under a glass-and-steel roof with the 三角広場 sign
Shinjuku Sumitomo Building / Sankaku HirobaCompare an indoor plaza and an observatory at different urban heights.
Cocoon Tower wrapped in its white diagonal lattice
Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower“THE VERTICAL WEST” · Street · exterior
Shinjuku Park Tower with its three pointed crowns
Park Hyatt Tokyo“THE VERTICAL WEST” · 41F lounge · paid

Before you go

Hours and fees
South: 09:30–22:00, entry until 21:30. North: 09:30–17:30, entry until 17:00; extended to 22:00 on South closure days. Admission is free; ordinary advance and group reservations are not accepted.
Good to know
South closes on the first and third Tuesdays, North on the second and fourth Mondays. Holiday, year-end and maintenance closures are on the visit-date calendar.
Access
For a step-free route, ask ground-floor security.
Official information ↗
See this item in the Atlas ↗Read in the Mapbook ↗
Sources · image info
  1. 展望室のご利用案内Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Bureau of Finance · as of 2026-09-29
  2. TMG observatories · opening calendarTokyo Metropolitan Government, Bureau of Finance · as of 2026-09-29
  3. Tokyo Metropolitan Government No.1 BuildingTokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, GO TOKYO · as of 2026-09-29
  4. 施設駐車場・交通案内Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Bureau of Finance · as of 2026-09-29
  5. よくある質問｜東京都の統計Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Statistics Division, Bureau of General Affairs · as of 2026-09-29
  6. Citizens’ Plaza: An Evolving Oasis Among SkyscrapersTokyo Metropolitan Government · as of 2026-09-29
  7. Tokyo Night & Light — viewing and accessTokyo Projection Mapping Executive Committee · as of 2026-10-19