Shinjuku / PLACE
Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower
A curved-glass campus wrapped in a white lattice, with an exterior worth a short stop and a public bookstore below.
Knowing why the base narrows and the middle widens turns a striking silhouette into an understandable school building.
Visit fitA short architectural stop on the west side, with time for a bookstore afterwards.
A roughly 204 m, 50-storey campus by Tange Associates (Paul Noritaka Tange), completed in 2008. Fashion, IT and medical vocational schools share one tower, and its white aluminium lattice crosses the curved glass envelope.
Step back for the outline, then look more closely at the white diagonal lattice over the glass.
Image info
Kakidai · 2024-10 · CC-BY-SA-4.0 · resized and cropped
A school among the office towers
The Cocoon Tower stands out among Shinjuku’s office buildings with its rounded, woven silhouette. It houses three schools: Tokyo Mode Gakuen for fashion, HAL Tokyo for technology and digital disciplines, and Shuto Iko for medical and welfare training. Completed in 2008, the roughly 204 m, 50-storey tower was designed by Tange Associates under Paul Noritaka Tange. The cocoon represents a place that protects students before they enter professional life. Three teaching zones are linked by corridors and open campus spaces, giving students from different disciplines places to meet within a vertical campus.
WHERE · On foot from here
How far from the station, and which side
South-west of Shinjuku-nishiguchi Station, about 200 m in a straight line from the station area. The shaded areas are about 5 and 10 minutes on foot from here.
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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 narrow base and a wider middle
The narrow base leaves more space for greenery at street level. The middle widens to accommodate classrooms, then the upper floors taper again. From the public pavement, step back far enough to see that outline; closer to the building, the white aluminium lattice becomes the more striking detail as it crosses the curved glass. Leave time for both the overall shape and its surface. The school floors are in use and are not open for general sightseeing.
Continue below ground to Book1st
The tower is about two minutes on foot from Shinjuku’s West Exit. Allow roughly 15–20 minutes for the exterior and keep doorways and student routes clear. Book1st Shinjuku on B1 and B2 sells books, stationery and small goods, usually from 10:00 to 22:30, with irregular closures. From the JR West gate, follow the right side of the underground plaza towards the government buildings to the shop entrance. Add browsing time to the exterior stop if you plan to go in.
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Before you go
- Hours and fees
- An exterior stop, about 2 minutes on foot from Shinjuku West Exit.
- Good to know
- School floors are not open for general sightseeing; keep entrances and student routes clear. The basement Book1st shop has separate public opening hours.
Sources · image info
- 問合せ・アクセスTokyo Mode Gakuen / Nihon Kyoiku Zaidan · as of 2026-09-29
- Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower (Q1030463)Wikidata contributors · as of 2026-09-29
- 施設・設備Tokyo Mode Gakuen / Nihon Kyoiku Zaidan · as of 2026-09-29
- Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower — project storyTange Associates · as of 2026-10-19
- コクーンタワー5階には…HAL Tokyo · as of 2026-10-19
- ブックファースト 新宿店Book1st · as of 2026-10-19
- Shimizu Corporation (main contractor) ↗
- Mynavi News (TECH+), interview with Mode Gakuen PR ↗
- Tange Associates (designer) ↗
- Shinjuku Convention & Visitors Bureau ↗
- Cocoon Tower — Kakidai · 2024-10 · CC-BY-SA-4.0 · resized and cropped
- SOMPO Museum — Asanagi · 2024-01-25 · CC0-1.0 · resized and cropped
- TMG Observatories — Kakidai · 2024-11 · CC-BY-SA-4.0 · resized and cropped
- Chuo Park — Mikhail Kotykhov · 2024-12-12 · CC0-1.0 · resized and cropped
- Sankaku Hiroba — 8joKeaton · 2021-06-20 · CC-BY-SA-4.0 · resized and cropped
