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Shinjuku (新宿) It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the
busiest train station in the world (Shinjuku Station handling over 2 Million
passengers a day), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the
administration center for the Tokyo Metropolis. The area around Shinjuku Station
is home to a large concentration of department stores, specialist electronic and
camera shops, cinemas, restaurants and bars. Many international hotels have a
large presence here.
History
In 1634, as the outer moat of the Edo castle was built, a number of temples and
shrines moved to the Yotsuya area on the western edge of Shinjuku. In 1698,
during the Edo period, Naitō Shinjuku had developed as a new (shin) station
(shuku or juku) on the Kōshū Kaidō, one of the major highways of that era. Naitō
was a daimyo whose mansion stood in the area; his land is now a public park, the
Shinjuku Gyoen.
Shinjuku began to develop into its current form after the Great Kantō earthquake
in 1923, since the seismically stable area largely escaped the devastation.
Consequently, West Shinjuku is one of the few areas in Tokyo with many
skyscrapers.
The Tokyo Air Raids from May to August 1945 destroyed almost 90% of the
buildings in the area in and around Shinjuku Station. The pre-war form of Shinjuku,
and the rest of Tokyo, for that matter, was retained after the war because the
roads and rails, damaged as they were, remained, and these formed the heart of
the Shinjuku in the post-war construction. Only in Kabuki-cho was a grand
reconstruction plan put into action (Ichikawa, 2003).
The present ward was established on March 15, 1947, with the merger of the
former wards of Yotsuya, Ushigome, and Yodobashi.
In 1991, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government moved from the Marunouchi district
of Chiyoda to the current building in Shinjuku. (The Tokyo International Forum
stands on the site vacated by the government.)
busiest train station in the world (Shinjuku Station handling over 2 Million
passengers a day), and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the
administration center for the Tokyo Metropolis. The area around Shinjuku Station
is home to a large concentration of department stores, specialist electronic and
camera shops, cinemas, restaurants and bars. Many international hotels have a
large presence here.
History
In 1634, as the outer moat of the Edo castle was built, a number of temples and
shrines moved to the Yotsuya area on the western edge of Shinjuku. In 1698,
during the Edo period, Naitō Shinjuku had developed as a new (shin) station
(shuku or juku) on the Kōshū Kaidō, one of the major highways of that era. Naitō
was a daimyo whose mansion stood in the area; his land is now a public park, the
Shinjuku Gyoen.
Shinjuku began to develop into its current form after the Great Kantō earthquake
in 1923, since the seismically stable area largely escaped the devastation.
Consequently, West Shinjuku is one of the few areas in Tokyo with many
skyscrapers.
The Tokyo Air Raids from May to August 1945 destroyed almost 90% of the
buildings in the area in and around Shinjuku Station. The pre-war form of Shinjuku,
and the rest of Tokyo, for that matter, was retained after the war because the
roads and rails, damaged as they were, remained, and these formed the heart of
the Shinjuku in the post-war construction. Only in Kabuki-cho was a grand
reconstruction plan put into action (Ichikawa, 2003).
The present ward was established on March 15, 1947, with the merger of the
former wards of Yotsuya, Ushigome, and Yodobashi.
In 1991, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government moved from the Marunouchi district
of Chiyoda to the current building in Shinjuku. (The Tokyo International Forum
stands on the site vacated by the government.)
| Shinjuku by day |
| Shinjuku by night |
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How To Get There
From Tokyo Station
Take the Chou line 7 stops, 15 minutes.
Related Pages
=> Getting To Tokyo
=> Transportation In Tokyo
=> Tokyo Maps
Helpful Links
=>
From Tokyo Station
Take the Chou line 7 stops, 15 minutes.
Related Pages
=> Getting To Tokyo
=> Transportation In Tokyo
=> Tokyo Maps
Helpful Links
=>
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