Summary

Tokyo's Kabukicho Tower, Japan's largest hotel and entertainment complex designed by Yuko Nagayama & Associates, has partially opened in Shinjuku, drawing inspiration from the area's watery past and marking the first skyscraper in Japan designed by a woman.

Abstract

The Kabukicho Tower, a striking addition to Tokyo's skyline, has begun its phased opening in the Shinjuku district. Designed by Yuko Nagayama & Associates, it stands out as Japan's first skyscraper designed by a female architect. The tower's design reflects Shinjuku's historical connection to water, with its non-boxy shape and unique facade that visually dissolves into the sky, symbolizing a departure from the traditional power symbols represented by office towers. At 225 meters tall, with 48 stories above ground and five below, the complex includes a variety of entertainment and dining options, a live music hall, a high-tech attraction by Sony Music, a wellness zone, a performance stage, a premium movie theatre, and two luxury hotels. The tower's opening is a significant event in Tokyo's architectural landscape, offering a new perspective on the city's skyline and a nod to its historical roots.

Opinions

The author likens the tower's appearance to a frosty shard from "Game of Thrones," indicating a sense of awe and fantasy.
There is a note of surprise and disappointment that in 2023, the first skyscraper designed by a woman in Japan is a noteworthy event, highlighting gender disparity in architecture.
The architect, Yuko Nagayama, chose a water theme to honor Shinjuku's aquatic history and aimed to avoid the problematic mirroring effect of typical glass box skyscrapers.
The author expresses curiosity about the tower's future impact on the surrounding area and a desire to experience the view from the atrium of the Bellustar Tokyo hotel.
The use of low-resolution images under a Creative Commons license for public use, with high-resolution images available upon request, indicates a thoughtful balance between public access and copyright protection.

Tokyo’s Kabukicho Tower

Japan’s newest and largest hotel and entertainment complex — slowly — opens in the northern part of Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighbourhood

All photos ©Aaron Paulson. These pictures are available for use under limited license.*

The first time I saw Kabukicho Tower, still under construction in the north end of Shinjuku, I thought a frosty shard of The Wall had splintered off from Game of Thrones and somehow landed in Tokyo’s red light district.

Today, Friday, April 14th Tokyo time as I write this, that icicle of glass and steel has finally — partly — opened. The true story may not live up to my over-active imagination, but Tokyo’s newest, and largest, hotel and entertainment landmark does have some noteworthy features.

First, it’s surprising and disappointing to say in 2023, but here we are… Kabukicho Tower was designed by Yuko Nagayama & Associates, and it’s Japan’s first skyscraper designed by a woman.

Second, the tower’s inspiration speaks to Shinjuku’s watery past. In a January 2023 interview with Elf Meyer at World-Architects.com, Yuko Nagayama explains that once upon a time

Shinjuku was a swamp with many fountains, but they were all lost. There is a Buddhist “goddess of water” called Benzai Ten. In Kabukicho there were many stories related to water. That is why I chose that theme.

Normal skyscrapers are glass boxes and their mirroring effect can be problematic, so I avoided a boxy tower shape with a standard glass facade… people may think that because I am a woman I will design differently. I won the competition for the design of the Kabukicho Tower in which only female architects participated. The exact number of women architects who were asked to submit a proposal remains secret, however, unfortunately… The Kabukicho Tower is 225 meters tall but does not contain any offices; this is the first time in Japan. Office towers can be seen as symbols of power, but this tower is more fragile, dissolving visually into the sky.

At 48 stories above ground and five below, Kabukicho Tower is now the largest hotel and entertainment complex in Japan.

On opening day, I only visited the 1st to the 17th floor, from some brightly-lit restaurant areas, a gelato stand and indoor/outdoor viewing area opened onto a unique view of the Seibu Shinjuku satellite terminus of Shinjuku Station and west towards Shinjuku’s traditional hotel and skyscraper district (near the twin Metropolitan Government towers, if that helps).

The two hotels open in mid-May, and I’ll be curious to re-visit the complex as more of the facilities come online and possibly more photo opportunities emerge of the building and the surrounding, northern part of Shinjuku.

Eventually, the list of facilities will include

Live music hall Zepp Tokyo on basement levels one to four, with a capacity for roughly 1,500 people.

The second and third floors are dedicated to food and amusement, as per the photos here.

The fourth and fifth floors will include a high-tech attraction by Sony Music and a wellness zone; floors six to eight will be home to Theatre Milano-Za performance stage; and floors nine and ten will be a premium movie theatre.

The new tower will be home to two luxury hotels: Hotel Groove Shinjuku from floors 18 to 38 and Bellustar Tokyo on floors 39 through 47.

To top it off, Hotel Bellustar Tokyo will apparently have a three-storey atrium with jaw-dropping views 170 metres above Tokyo.

Not sure if or when I’ll get a chance to catch the view from Bellustar’s atrium — perhaps they’ll run a staycation package deal? — but I would like to catch that view, and I’ll post pictures when I get them…

*The low-resolution images on this page are downloadable and usable by you, dear viewer, under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. High-resolution images are available directly from me, Aaron Paulson. Please contact me for more information.