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Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office Building One
Type: Skyscraper
Location: 2-8-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku
Looking more like the home of a global corporate giant than the local city council, this office complex reflects the modern Asian architectural sensibility. In some ways its twin 48-story towers even mirror the famed Petronas Towers in Malaysia. The building's towering height is the result of Japan's late 20th century economic boom when land values soared and it seemed like the money would never s... (more)
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Christian Dior Omotesando Building
Type: Skyscraper
Location: 5-9-11 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
On one of Tokyo's most fashionable streets the world's luxury retailers are elbowing each other in order to attract shoppers' attention. This battle goes beyond price, value, and quality. It extends to the very architecture of their shops. Dior's Omotesando building is an outgrowth of that competitive spirit in a city where, recession-be-damned, brand names still rule the retail roost. The buildin... (more)
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Tod's Omotesando Building
Type: Retail Establishment
Location: 5-1-15 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
In the 1990's luxury retailers worldwide were searching for new ways to promote their brands. Products placement was already common. Billboards and magazine ads were adequate, but couldn't overtly attract attention to themselves without diminishing the luxe of the brand. A few flirtations with television advertising proved that medium didn't deliver the right clientele. Eventually they realize... (more)
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Super Dry Hall
Type: Entertainment Venue
Location: 1-23-1 Azumabashi, Sumida-ku
Tokyo is a fascinating city for architecture lovers. Its ancient temples and shrines are complemented by modern works that defy Western imagination and make the word "daring" seem too tame. Azumabashi Hall is one of those pieces of Japanese architecture that the people of Tokyo readily embrace while outsiders trying to wrap their brains around it cock their heads and squinch up their faces as if t... (more)
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Ginza Wako
Type: Retail Establishment
Location: 4-5-11 Ginza, Chuo-ku
The glitziest intersection in Tokyo's most fashionable shopping district is anchored by the venerable Ginza Wako building. Unlike its glass and neon neighbors, this building presents a dignified presence to shoppers and tourists crowding the Ginza corridor. Its wide curved base is intensely illuminated at night making it a blazing white beacon in the darkness that outshines the Johnny-come-lately ... (more)
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Christian Dior Ginza Building
Type: Retail Establishment
Location: 5-6-1 Ginza, Chiyoda-ku
One of the most beautiful buildings in the Ginza corridor belongs to fashion heavyweight Christian Dior. The building is tall, stately, and understated. Its exterior draws the eye for the very reason that it lacks the flash and trash of neighboring structures. It is the iPod of Tokyo architecture.
The facade is what most buildings are judged on, and LVMH went all out for this one. I... (more)
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Atago Green Hills Mori Tower
Type: Skyscraper
Location: 2-5-1 Atago, Minato-ku
A beautiful skyscraper standing tall above central Tokyo, its gleaming skin reflecting the sun filtered through the metropolitan haze. In the tradition of modern Japanese architecture, the building is designed to appear as if the exterior skin is partially peeled away, revealing the building's inner core; much like a lotus flower as it starts to spread its petals in the spring. In this case, the p... (more)
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Roppongi Hills Mori Tower
Type: Skyscraper
Location: 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku
A great part of the Tokyo skyline. It is one of a number of newer skyscrapers that are helping define the style of Asian architecture in the 21st century. Too many of Tokyo's older towers were mere copies of bland skyscrapers in other cities. Projects like the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower help Tokyo set itself apart from other capitals while at the same time firmly establish itself as a city to be ... (more)
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Tokyo Tower
Type: Tower
Location: 4-2-8 Shiba-Koen, Minato-ku
A modern echo of Japan's ancient Mount Fuji, the Tokyo Tower stands as one of the great cultural and architectural landmarks of Asia. In structure, it resembles the Eiffel Tower of France, but this one is slightly larger -- 1,092 feet compared with 1,056 for the Eiffel Tower. This makes it the tallest free-standing steel structure in the world. However, it is comparatively light -- just about 4,00... (more)
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Tokyo Ginza Shiseido Building
Type: Skyscraper
Location: 8-8-3 Ginza, Chuo-ku
There are a lot of buildings in Tokyo owned by the Shiseido company. Some historic. Some modern. But few get as much attention as this one. Occupying a very prominent corner on Ginza Dori, the Tokyo Ginza Shiseido Building uses color to stand out from the competition. But not the gauche neon and LED monstrosities of other nearby buildings. Instead, this Shiseido building's stucco facade is colored... (more)
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