13 Shinjuku／新宿

There was a huge black market beside Shinjuku Station after the World War II.  Although most of the area was razed and redeveloped when Shinjuku Station was largely renovated in 1960s, its atmosphere somewhat remains in Omoide Yokocho (“Memory Lane”, formerly called “Piss Alley”), a small 100m x 50m crowded with more than 50 small bars and restaurants, which is just besides the west exit of Shinjuku Station where 2-3 million passengers pass by every day.

The west side of Shinjuku Station was occupied by a large water purifying plant and had not been developed until the two department stores above the west exit, the underground mall and public square and the intercity bus terminal station was constructed in 1960s.  In the late 1960s, thousands of people gathered in the underground public square weekly and sang folk songs to show their protest against the war in Vietnam.  Currently, a huge redevelopment project of west exit area is ongoing.  The department store buildings will be demolished, and a highest skyscraper building will be constructed in 2029.

The large water purifying plant on the west side of Shinjuku Station was closed in 1965 and more than 10 skyscrapers were built on the site in 1970s-1980s.  In 1991 immediately after the crash in the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the collapse of bubble economy in Japan, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office was relocated from Marunouchi to the newly-built largest skyscrapers on the west side of Shinjuku Station.  Since then, many skyscrapers were built in the area and there are about 40 skyscrapers of 100m-250m high in the Nishi-Shinjuku area.

The newest skyscraper built in the Shinjuku area is the Shinjuku Toho Building located in Kabukicho, the largest entertainment district in Japan crowded with bars, pubs, restaurants, theaters, game halls, amusement complexes, clubs, cabarets, hostess bars, massage parlors, porn shops, peeping rooms, love hotels, etc.  Shinjuku town was established officially in 1697 as a post town on the Koshu Road (a major road to Kofu in Yamanashi and Suwa in Nagano) and soon became known for houses of prostitution.  Kabukicho has deep roots in the origin of Shinjuku.

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