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View from Tōkyō Tochō, Shinjuku
Autumn
Steep cliffs or pronounced hills where observatories places for people of Edo to enjoy the view of the surrounding landscapes, often in the direction of the Mt. Fuji. In present times, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (Tochō) in Shinjuku is often visited by tourists for its free observation decks which provide good panoramic views of Tokyo and beyond. The 243 meter tall building has two towers, and each houses an observatory at a height of 202 meters. With favorable weather conditions, famous landmarks such as Mount Fuji, the Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Tower, Meiji Shrine and the Tokyo Dome can be seen from the observatories.
Notes
The Tokyo of skyscrapers (one of the cities with the highest density of skyscrapers in the world) is a recent phenomenon that only began to take shape after the 1963 law that abolished the 31-meter height limits for buildings, and took off with the economic boom and the 1964 Olympics. It continued during the real estate bubble of the 1990s and now Japan’s megalopolis, the most populated of the country’s 47 prefectures, is dotted with skyscrapers.